The guilt was created to honour the legacy of Samuel Eninew. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

respect

Late educational assistant honoured with special quilt

Sep 29, 2025 | 5:00 PM

It was a day of remembrance at Churchill Community High School as staff and students came together to honour someone who meant so much to them.

A special ceremony was held to unveil a large quilt that was six years in the making. It was created by Churchill students with assistance from the Prince Albert Quilt Guild, and it is meant to represent the life of Samuel Eninew, an educational assistant who passed away in November 2019.

“It was something I wanted to do to honour him,” said teacher Debbie Banman.

“We worked together for three years in a Grade 8 classroom. It was my way, and the kids were quite upset too, so it was our way of kind of grieving. Because of COVID, it turned into almost six years from start to finish that it took us to get everything completed.”

While student designed and created the individual squares for the quilt, members of the Prince Albert Quilt Guild were tasking with sewing the blanket together. The individual patches, which are either painted or beaded, are meant to represent aspects of Eninew’s life.

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Monday’s ceremony was supposed to happen in June, but it was delayed until this month due to the wildfire evacuation which occurred that month.

Family and friends of Samuel Eninew are photographed with the quilt following the ceremony. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Samuel Eninew passed away at the age of 52. (Arbor Memorial)

“It was a long, but very meaningful journey and lots of people involved. It just makes you realize the impact one person can have in this world,” Banman remarked.

Alex Halkett was one of the people invited to speak during the ceremony. He and Eninew were best friends and came to know each other as brothers. From 1974 to 1984, they attended the Timber Bay Children’s Home together.

Halkett explained the quilt is a wonderful representation of who Eninew was and it’s a good way to honour him.

“He was a very humble man and for this to happen is something he deserves,” Halkett said.

“He truly deserves this, and he was such a wonderful person that I am so glad they are acknowledging him, and as a residential school survivor also, for what he did and how he dealt with it and how he dealt with people. He was a success, so this to me shows how successful he was as a man, as a residential school survivor and as a human being.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com