Terri Sopha is relieved her father Dave Sopha's painting, which many describe as a Canadian national treasure, has finally found a new place to call home.
After spending nearly 15 years at it's previous home in the Kin Canada building in Preston, the late artist's Portraits of Honour and the collection of military memorabilia that accompanied it, will take residence at its new homes between the Preston Scout House and the Cadet Youth Development Centre at the Waterloo International Airport in Breslau.
"I just can't believe that we finally have a new space and I'm just happy these soldiers don't have to be put in a box for the second time," said Terri last week.
Dave started painting the 158 portraits of fallen soldiers back in 2009, spending over 10,000 hours over the course of six years to complete the massive painting.
The outcome of Dave's artistic devotion was a 43-foot-long and nine foot tall mural with all of the faces of the fallen and over 114,000 poppies to represent all of the Canadian lives lost since the First World War.
With all of the emotions of leaving her father's original studio at the Kin Canada building, Sopha was angry and skeptical that any space could live up to what her father had built in the lower level of the iconic Riverside Park building.
"Those feeling's of anger, confusion and really the feeling that I was losing the one space that I really had to mourn my father were all taking it's toll on me up until the move," Sopha said.
That insecurity and uncertainty washed away when the city offered Sopha the Scout House space where her office and father's military collection will live on.
The eight-foot ceilings at the new location aren't quite big enough for the massive painting and the city has agreed to provide a replica that will fill one of the walls for everyone in the community to see.
Nearly occupying the entire main floor of the Scout House, Sopha shares the building with another displaced group, the Preston Figure Skating Club.
The moves were necessary after several city owned buildings were either being renovated, demolished or sold off.
"I am happy about the tenant situation here. I'm not sure if everyone is content, but I know the city is doing what they can to accommodate most of the groups who were affected," she added.
Sopha said Ward 3 councillor Corey Kimpson and mayor Jan Liggett played an integral part in getting the Portraits of Honour into the space at the Scout House and Kimpson couldn't be happier to keep Dave Sopha's collection remain in Preston.
"I'm certainly very pleased that we were able to find a home for Portraits of Honour at the Preston Scout House," wrote Kimpson in an email to CambridgeToday. "It is a beautiful space in a heritage building and the location is easily accessible for all members of our community and visitors from out of town."
Over the next few months, Sopha and her family are going to be unpacking and setting up all the displays to create the perfect space for her father's legacy.
"We have a lot to do, but my father never did anything small, he always went all out," Sopha said. "We are going to realize his dream and create a place that I know he would be proud of."
With the replica of the portrait at the office in Preston and the original at the Cadets in Breslau, Sopha has the opportunity to travel with the original for exhibits across the country, and, if she has it her way, around the world.
"We have a couple of events lined up in Halifax and we were recently approached by Juno Beach in Normandy to bring the painting out there and speak at a couple of events. This would be a dream come true and something I've worked my life to get back to," she added.
Sopha says she can feel the energy of something else in the Scout House and want's to believe that it's her father who's watching over her, reassuring her that it's okay to move forward and keep going.
"When me and my son first came here we went into the kitchen and started setting things up. When I opened the cabinet, there was a brand new paint brush. I know it wasn't from us. I took it as a sign from my dad that everything was going to be okay and we were going to be just fine here."
Sopha plans to have a grand opening in August complete with food trucks, members of the local legions and city councillors to celebrate the continuation of her father's legacy and moving into the next chapter with her at the helm.