Following a 21-month-long battle with breast cancer, Lhasa died, age 37, on the evening of January 1, 2010, at her home in Montreal. She was survived by her partner Ryan Morey, by her parents, and by nine siblings. Lhasa was cremated, in accordance with her wishes. On January 9, a funeral ceremony was held for family and friends at the Ukrainian National Federation Hall in Montreal. A cemetery plot and stone for Lhasa are at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, Montreal.
Following her death, it snowed in Montreal for four days. Lhasa collaborator Patrick Watson said that some of her friends felt it was a last message from her, and with experimental group Esmerine he co-wrote a song dedicated to Lhasa: "Snow Day for Lhasa".
A sold-out memorial concert called "La Route chante: A Community Show for Lhasa" was held on January 6, 2012, at the Rialto Theatre in Montreal, honoring the life of Lhasa. Musicians who collaborated with Lhasa performed, along with other artists such as Katie Moore, Thomas Hellman, and Plants and Animals. Lhasa's manager, David-Étienne Savoie, and her collaborator Watson originated the concept of a memorial concert, and the musicians met in Watson's studio to rehearse. To open the concert, The Barr Brothers played together with Sarah Pagé, Miles Perkin and Joe Grass, interpreting Lhasa's "Small Song". Other performers included Ariane Moffatt, Esmerine, Watson, Mario Légaré, Arthur H, Jérôme Minière and Brazilian-born singer Bïa. A second show was added the following night to accommodate demand for tickets.
On January 16, Jim Corcoran devoted an episode of his CBC Radio One program À Propos, a weekly show about Quebec music, to a Lhasa tribute show.
On the summer solstice, June 21, 2010, another memorial ceremony took place in Bourgogne, France. Some of Lhasa's ashes were dispersed in a small river that flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
Madonna Hamel's audio documentary She Moves Between Worlds: Remembering Lhasa de Sela combined a previously unpublished conversation between Hamel and Lhasa with interviews and responses to the conversation by band members and friends. The documentary was aired January 1, 2013, on CBC's Inside The Music.
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