'We are celebrating his life': Couple giving friends and family the chance to say goodbye
An Airdrie couple held a celebration of life after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
A year after Jim Nikiforuk and Deborah Lawton were married in 2014, Jim was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.
The couple was told this summer that Jim only had a few months left to live.
"We really wanted to have Jim be able to have the opportunity for people to be able to come and celebrate with him before… give all their wishes to him instead of to me at the funeral, and we're not having a funeral, we are celebrating his life with him with us," said Deborah.
The couple has a history of being non-traditional, their wedding even took place in a Starbucks.
Guests at the celebaration of life were also given a cookbook filled with Jim’s recipes. According to Deborah, after 47 years of cooking dinner on Ukrainian Christmas and being asked for the recipes, they decided to make them his legacy.
"We’re very grateful that he’s been doing really well these past couple of days and grateful that we can celebrate," said Deborah. "There’s too much going on right now that’s sad and we just wanted to have good smiles and a really great way of blessing everybody who's blessed our lives."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.