Every holiday is difficult for Norbert and Joanne Rolheiser.
The couple has had to learn to celebrate special occasions without their daughter, Kristin Brown.
Christmas is especially tough.
Kristin was only 33 when she passed away after battling stage four lung cancer.
The young mother had been teaching just days before her diagnosis; what followed was an agonizing eight-month battle.
“Her smile would light up a room,” said her mother, Joanne.
“I miss her, we miss her. Her daughter misses her. We all miss her.”
It was January 2015 when doctors told Kristin she had cancer.
“Her first words out of her mouth,” said Joanne, were, ‘My baby is only 18 months old.’ It was not about herself. It was about her little girl.
“Tenley was her greatest gift. She was just over the moon when she found out she was expecting. Tenley was her world.”
Kristin died on Sept., 27, 2015.
The Rolheisers said even during her painful treatment, their daughter showed strength and courage from her hospital bed.
“Kristin was the most amazing person on the planet,” smiled Joanne.
“Sick or not sick, she was just a genuine, compassionate girl.”
Her love for helping others extended to her grade four students at St. John Paul II school in Stony Plain, Alta. This would have marked Kristin’s 10th year of teaching, in the Evergreen Catholic School Division.
“She loved giving,” Joanne said. “She would buy presents for anybody and everybody and she was so humbled to receive them.”
To help with their grief, and to honour Kristin’s memory, the Rolheisers decided to give back.
Over the years, family and friends have collected donations.
Last year, Joanne said a $2,500 donation was made to Amy’s House, a temporary home in Edmonton for cancer patients that are from out-of-town.
This year, on Kristin’s behalf, the family said it donated to Cross Cancer Institute in-patients and their families, along with the Westview Health Centre in Stony Plain.
Joanne said she hoped the gift brought “a glimmer of joy to those spending Christmas in the hospital.”
“It’s very overwhelming,” said Kristin’s dad, Norbert.
“It keeps us busy and keeps her alive in our hearts.
“She’d be overwhelmed. Probably no words, she’d probably come to tears.”
“We just want to make her proud,” added Joanne.
She would have been proud. Kristin’s daughter, Tenley, now eight, has been part of the fundraising effort every single year.
“That’s just who her mom was and I think she knows that,” said Joanne of Tenley’s generosity.
The Rolheisers hope their efforts inspire others to donate over the holidays — and to honour loved ones that have passed.
For Joanne, Christmas now has different meaning.
“In all honesty, maybe we appreciate a whole lot more things now.”
The couple said the ongoing kindness from Kristin’s family and friends, and willingness to donate time and money “warms your heart.”
In their pain of losing Kristin, the family has found joy in giving
“If we can help another family by doing this,” said an emotional Norbert, “that’s what it’s all about.”
“It’s just an honour to honour our girl,” added Joanne.
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