Last year, Maclean’s senior writer and columnist Anne Kingston passed away from cancer, leaving behind an incredible legacy of perceptive, intelligent reporting on some of the most important issues of our times.  (You can read about Anne’s inspiring life and work here.)

SJC partnered with Carleton University to launch a memorial fund in her name, honouring Anne’s legacy and to do something that meant most to Anne – support other aspiring journalists. In these times, we need courageous, empathetic and truth-seeking storytellers more than ever.

With SJC’s donation, Carleton’s Giving Tuesday matching gift and generous donations from Anne’s friends and families, the fund provided opportunities to three students at Carleton’s School of Journalism and Communication to contribute to the incredible They Were Loved project. The three recipients of the Anne Kingston Memorial Fund are working alongside two other students from Carleton’s Future of Journalism initiative. This collaboration between Maclean’s, the Carleton School of Journalism and other journalism schools across the country, is paying tribute to everyone who has died of COVID-19 in Canada, and every Canadian who has died of the disease abroad.

We are honoured, and inspired, to share a bit about each of the three selected students, including their contributions to They Were Loved. Through the Fund, they are together aiming to write 45+ obituaries and are assisting the Carleton faculty in building out the database of names by connecting with underrepresented communities across the country.

Kieran Heffernan

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of working on They Were Loved?

Hearing all the stories people tell me about their loved ones, many of which don’t make it into the final obituaries because of how short they have to be. It’s amazing how open people are willing to be with me, some random journalist they’ve never met before, especially during such a difficult time. The things people have told me have often been inspiring, charming, or funny, and it has just been a pleasure to experience.

What inspired you to get into journalism?

What inspired me to get into journalism was my grade 7 teacher. I had been quite into writing in general for a while, and we had an assignment which was to create a newspaper based on a novel we were reading. She really liked mine, and wrote in my yearbook at the end of the year “I hope to see your name in a byline someday.” That really hit me hard I guess, so now here I am.

What’s your dream job?

My dream journalism job is to do stories about cultural trends, especially around internet and queer culture. I find it really interesting to investigate why and how things are the way they are culturally (a favourite story I wrote was about a history of cats on the internet).

They Were Loved obituaries: 

Cecile Desrochers-Castonguay: Her determination defined her
Diane Berger: Lived for her four sons

Tracey Lindeman

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of working on They Were Loved:

So far I’ve been speaking with people from Quebec, the province with the highest COVID-19 death toll. It’s a huge task, but also important to me that the people from my province are represented in They Were Loved, regardless of language. I’ve also been working on identifying people who didn’t get official obituaries, as well as people from underrepresented communities, by using the online investigative skills I’ve honed throughout my career in journalism.

What inspired you to get into journalism?
I didn’t have dreams of being a journalist. Rather, an old CEGEP teacher of mine, Ernest Tucker, encouraged me to apply to journalism school at Concordia as my creative arts program was coming to an end. I got in! After the first year of my BA, in the summer of 2004, I started writing for Montreal’s (now former) alt weekly, the Montreal Mirror, and that work really defined my outlook on the role of journalism in society. I came back to journalism school upon the urging of another old teacher of mine, Matthew Hays, who also worked at the Mirror for many years. That’s how I ended up at Carleton in 2020, and at the They Were Loved project.

What is your dream job? 
Right now, that looks like writing my book (coming in 2023 on ECW Press)! I think continuing to be a mostly successful freelancer is probably what I envision for the future… but my dreams and goals are always changing and evolving along with me.

They Were Loved obituaries: 

Sébastien Frève: His curiosity kept him young
Jean-Pierre Légaré: A man of boundless dedication
Gaston Ladouceur: “His actions spoke louder than words”

On this International Women's Day, I'm proud to say I am a recipient of the Anne Kingston memorial fund at Carleton, which is being used to contribute to @macleans' They Were Loved project commemorating all of Canada's COVID victims.

— Tracey Lindeman (@traceylindeman) March 9, 2021

Leila El Shennawy

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of working on They Were Loved:

Hearing back from the family members after the piece is published is the most rewarding thing. I write with the family in mind, and with the hope they’ll feel the obituary captures their loved one well. Some of the responses I’ve gotten have been very touching.

What inspired you to get into journalism?

Until recently, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a journalist or that I could be good enough to be one. I applied to the journalism program at Carleton out of high school because I was good at English. Journalism scared me, and I wanted my degree to help me grow. It certainly has done that. I started loving journalism when I realized how interesting people and the world are, and that I could tell those stories well.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is anywhere I could focus on connecting with people. I’m passionate about community and how people care for each other, both in good times and in times of crisis. I want the journalism I do in the future to reflect that.

They Were Loved obituaries: 

Gerda Bartschick: Known for her recipes and her strength
Rita Kaspar: Encouraged independence in her granddaughters
Roger Moreau: A real-life Santa
Brian Martin: He made me feel safe

View all They Were Loved obituaries here and if have a loved one who you would like to be included in the project, reach out to the Maclean’s team here.