Colleen Sillito 'a perfect balance of head and heart,' companion says

It was only the couple's second date when Colleen Sillito's new companion Mike Cameron learned what kind of person she was.

Dinner was done, the two were on their second coffee and it was clear both wanted the date to continue.

Cameron asked Sillito what she would like to do.

"She said, 'Well I got my slack line in the back of the truck. Do you want to go and walk the slack line?'

"I said 'Yah. What the hell is a slack line?'" he said referring toa length ofwebbingstretched out betweentwo trees used tobalance and walk on.

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Sillito, 46, was fatally shot Friday outside her home in Fort Saskatchewan northeast of Edmonton. The body of54-year-oldPaul Jacob, her former common-law partner,was also found at the scene. Neighbours say they believe it was a murder-suicide.

Cameron described Sillito askind, giving, generous; somebody who loved teachingart and yoga and was involvedin thecommunity.

'I want to make sure her story doesnt end here'

9 years ago

Duration 4:31

Mike Cameron tells Edmonton AM host Trisha Estabrooks about girlfriend Colleen Sillito who ws killed Friday

"All her different passions,I'm just so grateful I got to share some of them,"he told Edmonton AM hostTrishaEstabrooksTuesday.

Sillito lived life fully and wasn't one to let things go by, Cameron said.

"When I first met her, I was a little worried that maybe she was a little too hippy or granola for me," he said. "I quickly realized that wasn't the case."

Sillito was "a perfect balance of head and heart," he said.

The couple, who met just five months ago,had talked about going skydiving together, something neitherhad ever done.

But Cameron didn't move fast enough, he said.

One morning he called Sillitoto make a lunch date, but was told she was too busy asshe wasscheduled to jump out of an airplane that afternoon.

"She woke up that morning and made a phone call to see if they had a spot available," he said. "That was the epitome of who she was."

Cameron said he doesn't want Sillito's story to end at the crime scene.

"I recognize I need to take time for myself and grieve, but by the same token I want to make sure her memory lives on," he said.

"A lot of people want to reach out and help, but do a kind deed for a stranger; smile at somebody; hold your loved one a little tighter today and just think of her and she'll be happy knowing there's an extra act of kindness going on because of her," he said.

A memorial is scheduled for Friday at3p.m. atThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints inSherwood Park, to be followed by acelebration of her lifeat 6 p.m. in the Dow Centennial Centre inFort Saskatchewan.

"The memorial on Friday is really going to be a celebration of life and we're going to dance because that's what she wouldhavewanted," he said. "Shelovedto dance."

RCMPare expected to release more information on the shooting once the autopsies are completed later today.