Guelph’s Jennifer Augustus had a tendency to light up every room she walked into.
She was deeply passionate about helping others, and had a knack for making sure those around her were smiling, laughing, cared for and supported.
The 25-year-old was one of two community members who died earlier this month of suspected drug poisoning in the St. George’s Square encampment. The other was 20-year-old Miles Cikvar.
Augustus was born in Cambridge but spent most of her life in Guelph, attending Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute in her teen years.
She was resilient and caring, with a deep love for those around her, as well as her dog Luke and cat Kat. She loved fishing with her dad and grandparents and taking walks in the forest.
Her mom, Lisa Mazza, lovingly remembers her as a “tomboy who looked like a supermodel.”
“When she was really little, she always had to be perfectly dressed and groomed,” she said. “She would refuse to do anything or go outside until she had her pretty little dress on or nylon baby stockings, stuff like that, to literally go out and play in the puddles on the driveway.
“She was the girliest tomboy.”
In elementary school, she broke her pinky finger and had to wear a plastic splint. When the doctor asked how the splint was working for her, she said “‘it’s great, it really helps me climb trees. I get a better grip.’”
That continued into adulthood, she said.
As she got older, she developed a passion for caregiving, especially for older adults, and worked in a retirement home until recently.
It was important to Augustus to make sure those around her were being treated fairly.
“She was a really good advocate for her residents and her clients,” she said, and cared about them deeply.
“She really just wanted to make sure that the people who couldn’t necessarily speak up for themselves, or that were being overlooked, had somebody to speak for them and make sure they were cared for as well as possible.”
That passion extended into her relationships with friends and family.
“She was always the life of the party, always down to do anything. But at the same time, if you needed somebody to back you up, or needed help or somebody to talk to, she was always there.”
Karly Hack agrees.
Hack has been friends with Augustus since childhood, and said during rough teenage years, Augustus was the one person who was always there for her.
“I absolutely love how understanding and caring she was. She had such an infectious laugh, and she just knew how to light up any room she was in,” she said.
Hack’s favourite memories are the simple ones – just being together.
“We loved baking together. We would just hang out and giggle and chat about life,” she said.
Augustus loved Christmas, and enjoyed baking and decorating the tree with her maternal grandmother, Dale McMullen.
When they weren’t making handmade presents, they would go to the dollar store together and Augustus would buy her whole family gifts.
McMullen said all her Christmas donations this year will be in Augustus’ name.
“I miss her so terribly,” she said. “She’s still up there watching us. She’s here with us, and she knows that she’s still part of everything I do, and will be forever.”
“Everybody just needs to know how special and happy she was,” she said. “She gave everything she had when she did something. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for anybody. She made my heart sing."
Her family and friends hope the community will remember her for her smile, her laugh and her personality.
“I just want people to know that she is more than what happened to her. She is not that person. She was just going through a hard time,” Hack said. “I want her to have her moment at the end of the day. She deserves that.”
Mazza attended a vigil last week held downtown for Augustus, Cikvar and several other community members who recently passed, including Brody Robinson and Chris Sutherland. Around 200 people showed up.
“It was just so wonderful to know that she was so loved and to see the number of people that were there to show their support and their love and remembrance for her,” she said.
Augustus and her mom were recently estranged, but had begun rebuilding their relationship.
“I’m very sad that we won’t get to be as close as we were when she was younger, but it was comforting to know there were so many people there surrounding her and helping her and loving her.”
