Birthdate: April 17, 1946 URS June 9, 2025
Shemmaho passed away peacefully, with grace and intention, at Kelowna General Hospital on June 9, 2025. She is survived by her son, Romeo Graham, who was with her as she passed. Born Jeffie Suzzanne Graham (née Bedsole), she crossed into Canada in 1970 with her husband Bo Graham and settled first in Birchdale, then in the community of Argenta at the head of Kootenay Lake. Together, they built a log home with the help of Sophie, their horse, and Purple, the goat. Later, she moved through Nelson and on to the Slocan Valley, where she made a home in Perry’s Siding for almost 30 years. While Romeo attended the Vallican Whole School, she taught singing and music to the children. Shemmaho was a member of many communities, traveling and attending gatherings, leading and organizing others—always learning, and always teaching. Many name changes and lifetimes later, she found a strong and supportive community in Castlegar. Returning to school as a senior, she began developing her voice as a writer at Selkirk College. Shemmaho also deepened her practice in visual art, producing many works in acrylic. Throughout her life, she was a steady advocate and activist for the protection of the Earth, seeking a spiritual way, and sharing her wisdom with all. She is loved fiercely and will be dearly missed.
I met Shemmaho in 1989 when she was facilitating a Joanna Macy process: A Council of All Beings. Soon after, she led the Dances of Universal Peace in my community and I was hooked. I am forever grateful for the many years of dancing with Shemmaho and all the wonderful dance leaders she invited to lead at the week-long camps. And that my two daughters grew up going to these camps with me on Kootenay Lake was an exquisite gift and delight! I knew Shemmaho as friend, gifted musician, dance leader, creator of dances and environmental activist who lived lightly on the earth. I spent many weekends at her home in Winlaw BC where we explored our inner worlds, picked herbs for her Green Wisdom Herbal Dispensary or did ceremony including when she changed her name from Daystar to Shemmaho. Despite her challenges, Shemmaho continued to rise and recreate her life.
What a blessing to have been introduced to the dances and to her guide Saadi which led me down the Sufi path.
Thank you for “Good Where Your Going To”, a favorite of Atum O’Kane. May it be good where you are going to now.
Dancing with shemmaho and shaddai
subtle
but completely clear
divine feminine rising between us,
you the guide, the goddess
a snake rising in the body
to body transmission
the big slow river
of female mystery revealed
with clarity and certainty.
i was in awe, altered
sacrificed all previous knowing upon this altar,
this depth of knowing;
great goddess was in our midst.
we danced on the riverbanks of ancient
syria and israel
we danced love for the surrounding hills that sustained us,
one hundred percent grounded and connected
underneath understanding
a power so deep and so constant
we forget to see it,
long wide slow river we live within
o great mother
o great mystery
Shemmaho was a Wise Woman and always a teacher. She brought a lot of creative energy and knowledge to the West Kootenay / Boundary region of British Columbia. I met her in 1989 at a Starhawk workshop at Camp Koolaree. She was dedicated to the earth and its protection, was involved in and led many ceremonies and ritual gatherings. She was well versed in some Native American traditions, having studied with local Indigenous people.. Many people will remember her as an amazing Dance leader and creator of Dances. She held a steady practice of Dances of Universal Peace in our area and ventured further away also. She, then Daystar, started up our local DUP Camp on Kootenay Lake at the place where I first met her. There were winter Dance retreats in Grand Forks also and so much more like drumming and singing classes. She helped people find their singing voices and experience singing in harmony.
She had a close group of followers and I believe she loved us all. Some of us learned Native chanting and drumming with a big drum that we sat around. Eventually, once perfected to her high standard, we recorded these. Some of us were with her to record her dance songs in a rustic church hall. Good memories, all.
She was my first Dance mentor, setting me on the path of leading.
All these experiences with Shemmaho were in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sadly I was not part of her life in the later years, but I remember her as a gifted and caring person and as my friend. I feel honored to have shared so much time with her.