By Emily Senger
Last week, the war in Afghanistan, thousands of kilometers away, hit closer to home.
Captain Nichola Goddard, daughter of University of Calgary associate dean of education Tim Goddard, was killed in combat Wed., May 17 about 25 kilometers west of Kandahar.
The 26-year-old soldier also left behind her mother Sally Goddard, her husband Jason Beam and two younger sisters.
The funeral takes place at 11 a.m. Fri., May 26 at Saint Barnabas’ Anglican Church, 1407 7th Ave. NW, after which Goddard will be interred at Ottawa’s National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces.
In hopes of providing closure, the family has decided to make the funeral open to the public and media.
“There have been so many people involved in Nichola’s life, and we have been overwhelmed by the messages of support and sympathy we have received from across Canada and, indeed, around the world,” said Tim and Sally Goddard in a press release. “It seems to us that not only we, her family, but all Canadians, the nation she died for, need to bring some closure to this awful story. Therefore, in conversation with her husband, Jason, we have determined that the funeral will be open to the media.”
A memorial scholarship will also be established at the U of C in Goddard’s name.
“Nichola’s husband Jason and her parents really wanted to make it available to students who are from areas Nichola was passionate about,” said U of C communications director Colleen Turner. “The scholarship will be potentially for students from three areas: Papua New Guinea, First Nations students and Afghani students.”
Nichola was born in Papua New Guinea where her parents were teachers and, as a child, moved to Northern Saskatchewan where she lived with First Nations peoples.
Donations to the Captain Nichola K.S. Goddard Scholarship Fund can be made through the U of C faculty of education.