Obituary
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kathleen Gagnon which occurred on August 13th, 2022. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, she was the beloved daughter of Roland and Jacqueline (Fudge) Gagnon.
Kathleen loved everything about life and was well known for her beautiful and contagious smile.
In Kathleen’s early years, she was involved in a lot of activities in and out of school: creative photography, student council, organizing a TED conference, yearbook editor, horseback riding and attaining her second-degree black belt in taekwondo. Learning and good grades at school were also important to her, resulting in her being listed as a finalist for the prestigious Loran Scholarship and attending the People-to-People leadership conference in Washington, D.C.
When she reached the university level, she had found her home, her people. She was most comfortable in a place of learning. She had her life mapped out and enjoyed being around likeminded people. She chose Neuroscience as a path towards Medicine at Memorial University.
When her illness progressed to the point that she could not attend classes at Memorial, she returned to Saint John and enrolled as a part time student with Athabasca University. Over the years, she pursued other interests as well. Her service dog River kindled her interest in dog training. She earned a title participating in a local rally obedience trial becoming the first wheelchair team to compete. She helped River earn many trick dog titles. This grew her love of working with dogs and lead her to become a Certified Trick Dog Instructor with the Do More with your Dog Program allowing her to share her newfound passion with others.
Kathleen’s love of reading and writing led her to create an online blog (theinvinciblesummer.ca) which was able to reach and inspire many people. She was able to advocate and raise awareness for those living with a chronic illness and she continuously advocated for those experiencing accessibility challenges.
Everyone that met Kathleen soon realized what a special person she was. She had an attitude of positivity, gratefulness and a zest for life that was contagious. She had a permanent smile on her face no matter what obstacle she faced.
In addition to her parents, Kathleen is survived by her sister Emma; her furry pride and joy River; grandparents David and Betty Fudge; aunts and uncles, Yvette (Jean-Guy) LeBlanc, Diane Broderick, Maurice (Louise) Gagnon, Rob (Kim) Fudge and cousins, Matthew, Jessica, Daniel, Pierre, Melanie, Josée, Isabelle, Michael and Sean, along with other extended family members and many friends.
Kathleen was predeceased by her paternal grandparents Leo-Paul and Alice Gagnon and her uncle Reginal (Vivianne) Gagnon.
Our family wishes to thank Dr. Wildish, Dr. Williams, Dr. Boudreau & Dr. McKnight. We have so much gratitude to the entire Extra-Mural team, particularly Krista and Liana. With their support, Kathleen was able to spend her days as comfortable as possible in her home throughout the many years of illness.
Arrangements are under the care of Fundy Funeral Home, 230 Westmorland Road (646-2424) where visitation will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2022, between the hours of 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. A Funeral Liturgy will follow at 4:00 p.m. in the Fundy Chapel.
For those unable to attend her service, please visit the following link to join us virtually:
event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=dcf55650-a29b-4374-98df-76c6c2ea7155
In Kathleen’s memory donations can be made to Saint John Extramural to enable them to continue offering great support to others in our community.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Kathleen Gagnon October 9 1996 August 13 2022 (age 25)..
Death notice for the town of: Saint-John, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick