"Deserves a little statue": City mourns passing of Vancouver duck lady

A familiar face that many have seen around the city has passed away, and now tributes are pouring in for the woman who became known as the Vancouver duck lady.

All over social media, members of the Vancouver online community are sending their thoughts and wishes, with some even suggesting that she deserves a memorial.

“Deserves a little statue somewhere with her and her duck,” a Reddit user said.

Others joined in on the idea, suggesting the user should start a petition and that “me and many others will sign.”

But who was the Vancouver duck lady and why does her passing touch so many?

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Jenna Silverstone/Daily Hive

While Vancouverites coined her nickname, the name she offered to those who inquired was Laura-Kay Prophet. She has a website dedicated to her journey and the many ducks she has been accompanied by, starting with Harvey and her latest, Bobby VI. The latter was even featured in Scout Magazine and on the Lynda Steele Show on CKNW Radio.

While some might call her musings on life eccentric, she was a warm-hearted and kind person who loved her ducks.

“She was always super nice,” someone commented.

Some might have seen her walking around Marpole, others on the #17 bus, but she always had her feathered companion wherever she was.

Many shared their own memories of her.

“My one memory of her was she gave me a small printout/photocopy of her story, kind of like a business card almost. Still have it! I can’t recall the conversation we had but I wish I asked her more questions about her at the time. RIP,” another Redditor said.

“RIP duck lady, I remember when you stopped by the subway project on Cambie and Yukon and talked to me for 20 minutes while I was flagging. I got to feed your duck friend a handful of seed.”

“Duck!”
“What?”
“I said ‘Duck!'”

Just now on northeast corner of W Broadway and Spruce, #Vancouver‘s one and only “#DuckLady“, Laura Kay Prophet, with her duck Bobbie VI — “the incarnation of Bobbie I thru V,” Laura reverently explained.
“Just like the Dalai Lama!” I replied. pic.twitter.com/l9MQhjLCKT

— Stanley Q Woodvine (@sqwabb) September 21, 2022

Based on the sentiments shared by the Vancouver community, the streets are going to be a tad bit lonelier without Prophet around.

Do you have a memory of the duck lady? Let us know in the comments.