Obituary of Caleigh Jeannine Kanary

December 29, 1987 – Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

August 11, 2023 – Calgary, Alberta

In loving memory of Caleigh "Kaleigh" Jeannine Kanary (nee Robertson).

It is with immense grief and overwhelming sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved partner, daughter, and sister, Kaleigh Jeannine Kanary. Kaleigh passed away on August 11^th, 2023, at the age of 35. She is loved by her partner Shane, cat Spooky, Shane’s sons Liam, Riley, and Aidan, parents Glenn and Kathy Robertson, sister Jenny, brother-in-law Brian, and nephew Malcolm Young, as well as many other family members and friends.

Kaleigh led a life of fluidity. She was born in Charlottetown, PEI on December 29th, 1987, and moved with her family two weeks later to Moncton, NB. Her family relocated three more times throughout the Maritimes in her early childhood before landing in Calgary, AB in 1999. During her years attending Cardinal Newman Junior High and Bishop O’Byrne High School, she uncovered her gift for drawing and grew her passion for cartoons, music, and movies, both scary and funny, of which she could easily recite lines from with ease and accuracy. Much of her free time was spent listening to an ever-expanding soundtrack while she drew, read Shakespeare, and studied history. Her favorite books growing up were Sabriel and Lirael from the Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix. She always chose the Shy Guy avatar in Mario Party 3. Kaleigh’s favourite holidays were Halloween and Christmas and as each season neared, she eagerly anticipated the annual movie marathons for each. She loved decorating the front and backyards with her family at Christmas time, and touring festive light displays throughout the community.

Kaleigh received a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing from Mount Royal University in 2012. She was a consummate professional in the roles that she held in her career in purchasing, marketing, and sales. She was talented at organizing and running events, most recently working at Easter Seals Alberta in the role of Communication and Events Specialist.

In 2018, Kaleigh jumped feet first into fulfilling her need for a creative life. She participated as an artist in the 2018 through 2020 Voice & Vision collaborations, which pairs Airdrie and area writers and artists who are then tasked with creating new pieces of work based on their partners’ initial submissions. This involvement led her to be a Contributing Editor for both the 2022 and 2023 projects. What also began in late 2018 was her involvement in self-publishing books of fiction. She played a major role in the cover design of Shane’s first book, then in 2019 her involvement in the creative freight train was made official when she joined him as partner in their publishing imprint, “Pencil on Paper”. Three more books arrived in the next two years with Kaleigh in charge of the editing, graphic design, and marketing. Kaleigh always gave her all with any endeavour she pursued, and as such, completed her certificate in Professional Editing from Mount Royal University in 2021. In the midst of these busy times, she dabbled in poetry, wrote an unpublished children’s book called “The Little Ghost”, and created “Living with My Monsters”, shining a spotlight on anxiety and depression by making them physical characters. This not only helped Kaleigh explore the state of her own mental health but helped so many others do so as well.

Life changed a lot for Kaleigh in the last eighteen months of her life, including a new relationship, and moving to a new city. Kaleigh embraced the latest additions to her extended family, and Airdrie as her community, with all that she had. In her time off, she looked forward to volunteering in the cat room at APARC Airdrie, battling it out on Mario Kart 8 (still using Shy Guy as her avatar), and spending quality time with her person.  

Kaleigh’s family and friends are invited to gather on Thursday, September 7, 2023, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Brella Vida (700 FallPro Park, 2889 Kingsview Blvd SE, Airdrie, AB) to honour her life and memory. Condolences, memories, and photos may also be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Caleigh Kanary, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Airdrie, 300 Towerlane Drive, Airdrie, AB T4B 3L8, Telephone: 403-948-1100.