The death of Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie is hitting close to home for Winnipegger Jared Spier.
His partner Joanne Schiewe died at the end of August 2016 from the same kind of brain cancer — glioblastoma — that took 53-year-old Downie’s life on Tuesday night. Spier’s grandfather also died from the same disease.
Schiewe’s death came just weeks after she saw the Hip, her favourite band, play their final concert in Winnipeg.
Spier said Schiewe was inspired by Downie and what he accomplished after his diagnosis. She knew exactly how difficult it would be to get up on stage while going through cancer treatments, he said.
When the band played Schiewe’s favourite song, Courage, she sang as loud as she could, despite having little voice left, Spier said.
Joanne Schiewe, on the back of partner Jared Spier, died in August 2016 of the same brain cancer that claimed the life of Gord Downie. (Submitted to CBC)
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie arrives at We Day on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, in July. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
“She was wasn’t loud but she was screaming,” he said, also lauding Downie for being able to find the strength to perform.
“He did really, really well to be able to get out on that last tour. You could see the energy it took out of him during the shows, but at the same time, I think he did a great job of just being brave and live a normal life as much as he could.”
The fact he was out on tour while going through treatment helped Schiewe find her own strength to push forward, Spier said.
“One of the biggest things I appreciated about Jo was her ability to just push on, and not just wait to die, as horrible as that might sound.”
Schiewe’s death came 18 months after her diagnosis because it was caught so early, Spier said, noting his grandfather died seven weeks after being diagnosed.
Downie did a great deal to bring attention to the disease and make those suffering from it feel less isolated, while educating the wider public, Spier said.
Because the survival rate is so poor, there aren’t many living champions out there helping people understand glioblastoma — what it is, what it does, how quickly it takes people, he said.
The Tragically Hip say farewell in August 2016 after the final show of their Man Machine Poem tour. The last performance, broadcast on CBC, took place in their home town of Kingston, Ont. (CBC)
“It happens so fast, you don’t get to share the story, sometimes,” Spier said. “With Jo, she was lucky that she had some time, and with Gord, we were lucky that he had some time and got to shed a light on it.”
Downie became the most high-profile example of how devastating the disease can be “to just watch someone struggle and fade,” Spier said.
“I think we’re better as society for getting a chance to know those things.”
People will start to understand the disease more “because of the voice Gord gave it, and that’s gonna have a huge impact to the next person that gets diagnosed, so that they understand and the people around them understand and there can be less stress for them.”