We are saddened to report the passing of Kimberley Ann MacIntosh (née Moran) in her home on November 17, at the age of 54, surrounded by her husband, two daughters and two siblings, after a ferociously brave four-and-a-half-year struggle with stage-four lung cancer.
Kim was very involved with The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (World Lung Cancer), where she was a member of its Supportive Training for Advocates on Research & Science (STARS) program. She attended its Barcelona Conference and was able to see first-hand what was happening in the lung cancer world. From there, her lung-cancer advocacy took off. She worked with Lung Cancer Canada as a member of its Programs Committee. Kim also worked with and shared her story with the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network and its Right2Survive campaign. In her own words, Kim said, “To put it bluntly, I would not be standing here today without innovative therapies or lung cancer research. It is my hope that my story can help inspire others to advocate for innovative therapies — because this pivotal research saves lives”. https://right2survive.ca/patient-stories/.
Kim was involved with the Ottawa Tamarack Race Weekend’s two-kilometer walk for the past three years to raise money for Lung Cancer Canada and was ecstatic to design the “Lung Cancer Strong” slogan for event T-shirts and signs. She was an active member of the International EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) Resisters Group and active in representing the White Ribbon Project for Canada. Kim travelled across Ontario, ribbons in tow, giving them to lung cancer patients. For her, it was important and gratifying to take a photo with each recipient of a white ribbon. Kim was also involved with LUNGevity and the HOPE Summit in Washington, DC, and was very active in her Ottawa CIRCLE (Connect, Inspire, Relate, Communicate, Learn, Empower) lung cancer support group, and in supporting the lung cancer awareness tables, whose volunteers provide information about lung cancer to cancer patients and their families.
In 2019, Kim founded Team Sparkle, #LoveLungSparkle, which grew to over 200 members across North America, to share her journey with others. The lung-cancer advocacy community knew her as the “Sparkle Princess” because of her positivity and glowing smile, and since she seemed to spread sparkle dust wherever she went.
To read more about Kim’s lung cancer journey, go to: https://www.lungcancercanada.ca/Resources/Patient-Stories/Kim-MacIntosh.aspx.
Kim was renowned and admired for her mental health advocacy; her successful, nearly 30-year nursing career; and, more recently, her lung-cancer advocacy. Her absence is felt by co-workers, the mental health community, her lung-cancer advocacy sisters and brothers, and the countless others she inspired and befriended over the years, and whose lives she touched with her kindness; spirited, no-nonsense approach to life; and fierce determination in all pursuits.
Kim is survived by her devoted husband of 18 years, Dean MacIntosh. The proud mother of daughters Ceilidh and Sadie, she was beloved by her parents Ken and Janice Moran, sister Pamela Ouellet (Eric), and brother James Moran (Anita Dolman). She is also survived by her parents-in-law Carolee and Robert (“Bob”) MacIntosh; brother-in-law Warren MacIntosh (Trudy); nieces Brittany, Kelsey, Rebecca, and Cassie MacIntosh; and nephews Thaeden Ouellet and Dylan Moran-Dolman. Kim will be dearly missed by many close friends including her long-time besties Kelli, Shelley and Anne.
She was loved, admired, and cherished by family and friends.
Kim thrived on Moran and MacIntosh family traditions. The life of the party, whether concocting delicious Sangria or organizing shopping trips to the States, she had a passion for shopping, crafts, and decoration. Kim considered bearing witness to her clients’ stories and lives her life’s work. In younger years, she was an accomplished high jumper, protective older sister, and trouncer of neighbourhood bullies. Even earlier, she was a highly active child who would bicycle halfway across town to see a friend, and whose nicknames among family were “Turkey” and “Mikerleys.”
In the spirit of Kim’s love of shopping, an Irish wake was held in Cornwall on Black Friday, November 26, 2021, in Cornwall. To express sympathy, kindly donate to The Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT), Elizabeth Dessureault Memorial Fund, and Lung Cancer Canada.