Skip to content

My kids and I will always draw strength from the care and comfort their mom experienced in her last days.

My wife Lori was only 44 when she died last fall, leaving me and our two children devastated. Lori and I met at teachers’ college in New Brunswick and quickly knew that we wanted to spend our lives together. We had no idea that this would only mean about 22 years.

Lori was the most amazing person I ever knew.

Lori was a passionate educator and brought such enthusiasm and energy to her classroom. She helped me to be a better teacher; not only with my own grade 8 students, but also with our children: Grant, 14 and Emily, 16.

Lori was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September 2016 following a routine checkup. She was referred to Sunnybrook Hospital where her doctors recommended a grueling 28 rounds of radiation followed by 24 rounds of chemotherapy and 4 rounds of brachytherapy. They were confident that this intense treatment would rid her of the cancer cells so that she wouldn’t need to worry about this ever again. Lori attacked treatment with the same passion and energy she’d always had. After a full day of painful treatment, she’d be up at the crack of dawn to take Grant to hockey practice or Emily to riding lessons. Family was everything to Lori. Our family of four banded together to support Lori through her tough treatment and we were ecstatic when she received a clean bill of health in November 2017.

Although the doctors said she was cancer-free, Lori continued to experience pain. She knew that something wasn’t right. In December 2017, Lori underwent a procedure that showed what she knew all along – the cancer had spread to her major organs. The doctors told us that additional treatment would only mean added time and that her condition was no longer curable.

Our family motto is: We can do hard things.

Read the full story.