You graced the world with your beauty not only on the outside, but especially inside... your laugh was contagious and half the time we would all end of laughing at your laugh… the power of your smile would light up any room, brighten our day and we will treasure this memory forever.
Cecile & Athena(Friends of Tessa)
Even at six, here selflessness and ability to love was far beyond what you’d expect of someone of that age. She Truly had an old soul... I know I speak for everyone from Burn camp what I say we are so thankful that Tessa was brought into our lives. She lived with integrity and loved with all her heart. From all of us at Burn Camp, we want to say "we’re proud of you, kid."
Carla, Jenny & Hayley (Firefighters Burn Camp)
Tessa had learned in early february of last year that her cancer had returned yet again. A month later Tessa was competing in her grade 12 basketball provincials. The cancer by this time was making it difficult for her to breathe and left her extremely fatigued. It was our quarter final game against arch rival Sahali from Kamloops a team that had beaten us in dramatic fashion in years past. It was the feature game on Thursday evening in front of a loud Kamloops crowd. From the start it was evident Tessa was putting in a performance to be remembered. She played close to 40mins, scoring 30 points and was a stall worth on defense and on the boards. Single handedly urging her team on to victory and a place in the semi finals. As in life and athletics Tessa refused to give up, she simply could not accept no for an answer. Ryan Tyrell(Basketball Coach - Holy Cross)
I was doing a kids basketball camp at the Surrey Y. On the first day I took attendance and I read off Tessa’s name, but she was not there. About 30 minutes into the camp in walks Steve with Tessa. I went up to Steve and said “Hey, you're late!” and he proceeded to tell me that they had just been in a car accident and that is why they were late... The ambulance came and checked them both out and said they were good… he suggested to Tessa that they should go home, but Tessa would not hear of it and she insisted that Steve bring her to the Basketball Camp! So would be my introduction to the determination, resiliency, toughness and joy that was Tessa Beauchamp.
Allison McNeil(Canadian Women’s Basketball Coach)
When I was asked at an interview who most inspired me, I automatically answered “my cousin, Tessa.” When they asked me why, I contemplated talking about her unwavering positivity, her strength throughout all her physically taxing treatments, or the fact that she pushed herself back onto the court repeatedly despite partial hearing loss, bad headaches and double vision. Instead I said, “she’s in palliative care now, and tired all the time, but whenever anybody walks in to her room, she smiles that beautiful welcoming smile because she doesn’t want it to be about her. Melissa Stephens(Tessa’s Cousin)