Kelsey Carignan

KELSEY LEIGH (NEVISON) CARIGNAN

It is with profound sadness that we announce Kelsey's passing on January 8, 2026 after an 8 year battle with cancer. Kelsey was born on February 17, 1986 and was predeceased by Baby Hayden, her BFF Kelly Pockett, and her grandparents, Walt and Edna Nevison and Roy and Ione Wanner.

She leaves behind her loving husband Ryan and their two sons, Noah and Holden of Langley, B.C., as well as her parents Tom and Lorrie Nevison, her sister Lisa (Kurt Thompson) and her two brothers Tyler (Daisy) and Scott (Cass) Nevison, her parents-in-law Chuck and Maureen Carignan, and nieces, nephews, aunties, uncles and cousins, all of whom absolutely adored her.

Kelsey was born a bright light. She was funny and feisty, sassy and smart, with a gigantic personality big enough to take on whatever life threw at her. She met academic and athletic success without surprise, launching herself from achievement to achievement. In all things, she was determined to excel and conquer.

While most things came easily for Kelsey, she and Ryan faced their share of challenges and setbacks early in their lives together. The exceptional medical care and a community of support they received during this time propelled Kelsey to action. With gratitude and humility, Kelsey and Noah started an annual Christmas toy campaign for the B.C. Children's Hospital which has been and will continue to be a great success.

Kelsey was primarily a hockey mom of the first order, throwing her time and her whole hearted encouragement and support behind Ryan, Noah and Holden in their pursuit of the sport, travelling and making lasting friendships along the way. In order to help expand flexibility and power of movement, Kelsey designed and developed the Yoga for Hockey program specifically for young hockey players.

While embracing the benefits of physical well-being, Kelsey's career enabled her to share other techniques for mindfulness and healing through her Vibrant Yogi platform, recognizing that wellness also comes through kindness and gratitude. In this way, Kelsey encouraged and supported countless people to live out loud and, when needed, to navigate challenges with strength and courage.

When Kelsey received her cancer diagnosis she dove into research so she could know her enemy and find her way to meet, navigate and overcome the challenges and hurdles ahead. When she found information and tools critical for her well-being, she drew on her experience to reach people as the Vibrant Yogi and shared that information and those healing techniques with others through her TEDx talk, Instagram, videos and ultimately her book “Let It Change You”. Kelsey maintained her sense of self through treatment with cold capping. When it worked for her, she immediately launched a program to spread the word and help provide other women with cold caps through their cancer treatment, free of charge.

Throughout her battle with cancer, Kelsey was fuelled by optimism, candour and an ability to turn the most difficult of circumstances into opportunities to help others. She encouraged everyone who knew her to never pass up a chance to be kind to others and to lead with courage. That message became even more important in the last weeks of her life and it was this goal that enabled Kelsey to meet her final challenge with grace, dignity, caring, and thoughtfulness. This is the awesome legacy she leaves for all those who love her.

Her family would like to acknowledge and thank the untold numbers of people who cared for, loved and supported Kelsey along the way, from medical staff, the yoga and wellness community, and of course, their hockey family. Your kindness and comfort was a gift Kelsey deeply cherished. In order to honour Kelsey, a celebration of her life will be planned for early this summer.