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Vanessa Yuille's Memorial Fund

A personal campaign sponsored by Christopher Nelson

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Vanessa Yuille was born on December 8th, 1987 to Robert and Sharon Nelson, and grew up in Caledonia, MN.  She loved music and excelled at piano, which she taught herself to play by ear by age five.  As she grew up she developed a special fondness for both AC/DC, whom she was proud to have seen three times, and for musicals, particularly Rogers and Hammerstein.  She excelled at track and field and set school records for Caledonia High School.  Upon graduation, she attended Winona State University, where she got a degree in English, before moving to Glasgow, Scotland to live with her husband, Rory, whom she married on August 13, 2010.  After earning a Masters degree in language and linguistics at the University of Glasgow, she moved to Toronto, Ontario to pursue a PhD at the University of Toronto.  She was very driven, and earned the respect of her professors, and made her family very proud.

Vanessa was a staunch supporter of social justice and animal welfare and always wanted to help others.  In addition to her incredible compassion, she continually impressed everyone around her with her intelligence, humor, and wit, and was a genuine joy to be around.

She was a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, and friend.

On November 4th, at the age of 27, she lost her battle with depression which she'd bravely fought for half her life.  Vanessa cared so deeply for others that she would never want anyone to suffer so much that they would choose the same path she did, and so we truly hope that you will join us in donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in her name, to do a small part in building a future without suicide.