‘She was the light’: Loved ones remember young Winnipeg mom Ava Zaber

The young Winnipeg mother who was gunned down last month is being remembered by loved ones as a generous person who volunteered to help the less fortunate, loved her family and the holidays, and wanted to become a marine biologist.

Family and friends of Ava Zaber are sharing memories of the 20-year-old mom who was just two months away from graduating when she was killed on Nov. 21.

“The love that she gave to absolutely everybody in the world, anyone who knew her – even if it was a stranger on the street. That is something to remember,” Zaber’s friend Kaylyn Hansen told CityNews.

“She was the light when you walk into a dark room.”

Zaber leaves behind a four-year-old son who’s been crying for his mother every day since her death, Zaber’s mother Donna Rusnak says. The family is rallying to support each other and care for the boy.

“My grandson. Still have to keep my daughter’s memory going for him,” said Rusnak.

“It would be good for her son to know how his mother was.”

Rusnak remembers her daughter’s generosity and dedication to helping others from a very young age.

“Got up, it was Sunday morning,” Rusnak recounted. “Where’d she go? ‘Ava, Ava,’ you know, around the house. There’s a soup kitchen, Immaculate, on Austin. Here she comes back with a four-litre of milk and six bananas. She did that every Sunday until she was like 11. She went and helped serve people.”

Zaber always enjoyed spending time with family and goofing around, her mother says.

“I remember one time I played a good one on her,” Rusnak said. “I told her I had this guy, Frank, coming over. He was real hot. She goes, ‘mom!’ I say, we gotta set the table. So we set the table, we sit down. And I go, ‘oh he’s here.’ I go in the fridge and go, ‘look’ – it was Frank’s RedHot sauce.”

Zaber was incredibly close to her mother and sister Kelsey, whose own daughter is devastated by her passing. Zaber would help care for Kelsey’s daughter.

Zaber’s friend Hansen described her as a great mom, whose life was changed for the better after giving birth – despite her young age.

“When she got pregnant with her son, I don’t know how to explain it. She just changed her whole life around and it was amazing to be able to watch that,” Hansen said.

“Her just being a mother, she was the best mother I could ever know. She raised her son in such an amazing way.”

Zaber loved making the holidays special

Rusnak describes her daughter as a creative person who put a lot of effort into making the holidays special for the children in their family.

One of Zaber’s cherished memories, Rusnak says, was being on the first-ever float for the Point Douglas neighbourhood during the 100th anniversary of the Santa Claus Parade.

This year, the 20-year-old was getting ready to put up Christmas decorations.

“It was like any other normal time,” her mother said. “Come in, snoop around my place, ’cause she knew I was just about finished my shopping. I said, ‘get out of there, nosey.’ I said, ‘you didn’t even get the good stuff.’ (She said) ‘I’ll be back in the morning to look in there.’

“She never came back.”

The following morning, it was Winnipeg police officers knocking on Rusnak’s door instead.

Police say Zaber was shot in North End – near Burrows Avenue and Salter Street – and later died in hospital. Two weeks later, a 20-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Zaber was one credit away from graduating. Her school brought her cap and diploma to the funeral.

“This should have never happened to her,” said Hansen, who’s also a MMIWG2S+ advocate.

Hansen found out about Zaber’s death when friends in Winnipeg shared the police release identifying her – but she still didn’t believe it could be true.

“I tried to text her and when she didn’t respond, I knew it was real,” she said.

“I sat there for like three days, crying. Because I hated that I couldn’t be there to see her service… To pay my respects.”

WATCH: Kaylyn Hansen shares a letter written to Ava Zaber after her death

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Hansen, who now lives in Saskatchewan, and Zaber were 14 years old when they met in school.

“She would come to my house every day, and we would just sit there and like, listen to music, go on our phones. She loved my cats,” Hansen said.

While it had been nearly a year since they last spoke, Hansen says Zaber had a tremendous impact on her life.

“She just taught me a lot about growing up, and what to expect and how to handle things. Which I am forever grateful that she did. She always pushed me to go back to school.

“She always pushed you to be the best version of yourself.”

‘She just kept dancing’

Hansen remembers all the times Zaber would start dancing – memories she’ll keep with her forever.

“I just look over because I’m recording myself and she’s just sitting there dancing,” the friend recalled. “Like dancing to nothing.

“And then I pointed over the camera to her and she just kept dancing. I’m not too sure why but that’s who she was, she was just so funny. That’s how I like to remember her is the light. The light.”

“It was just someone you always wanted to be around, Ava. She had such an infectious laugh.”

—Ava Zaber’s friend Kaylyn Hansen

Zaber’s mother and the rest of the family are left to continue packing up the young woman’s apartment while they try to figure out how to move forward.

Rusnak hopes the people responsible for her daughter’s death are brought to justice. But above everything else, the family wants to find a way to keep her legacy alive.

There is a memorial in front of Zaber’s house, where people have placed items for her to carry on her journey: flowers, clothes to keep warm and fruits.

“She’s left a long-lasting memory on absolutely everybody she’s touched,” Hansen said.