Obituary of Matthew William Andrew Kempe

Thank you to J.C. Charyk for providing the livestream service. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFemhs1hwVps9mxKANmW1zg/live

 If there are technical difficulties the service will be recorded and made available to watch on this website.

Taken too soon, Matthew Kempe got his wings on Tuesday, July 18^th at the age of 17.  Tanis and Jason welcomed Matthew William Andrew Kempe on Thursday, April 13, 2006, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Always smiling and active, Matthew filled his family’s hearts with love and joy.  At one month of age, Matthew took his first plane trip and was an amazing traveller as his family travelled through the years to places like Mexico, Disneyland, and several other provinces in Canada.  When Matthew was two and a half years old, his family moved to Alberta to start a new life chapter.

Matthew was naturally good at sports and loved the outdoors.  He was active in hockey for eight years (where he made several lifelong friends), archery, snowboarding, quadding, and motorbiking.  Always asking for a sibling, Matthew finally got his wish in August 2015 when Jessica was born.  Matthew was over the moon to have a sister and would feed and hold her as a baby.  He could not wait until she was big enough to play with.  Matthew also loved animals and his pet dogs over the years - Jack, Jasper and Sammy - were like siblings and slept in his bed with him.

His interests changed from sports to vehicles, when he got his 2001 red GMC Sierra truck, which was named Ruby.  He loved to work on his truck and search for parts and accessories for it.  He appreciated that his dad helped him work on his truck and his grandfathers sourced parts.  In September 2022, he got a position with Hanna Motor Products as an apprentice mechanic and his passion for working on vehicles flourished.  He thought of HMP as a second home.

Matthew was friendly, kind, outgoing, and his friends were very important to him, especially the love of his life - Jorgie.  She brought out the best in him and even had him attending rodeos, barrel races, and taking an interest in horses, which he told his parents were just “big dogs”.  It made his parents happy to see him happy with Jorgie.  Matthew was constantly smiling and his smile could be very hard for his parents to say no to.  Matthew loved to joke - never taking life too seriously – and was never afraid to try anything.  He thought of Ontario as Home, but always called Alberta HIS Home.  Matthew truly lived life to the fullest.

Matthew was predeceased by his great grandparents – William & Alma Kempe, William Delyea, Matthew Lehocky and Raymond Cote, and his great uncle – Billy Delyea.

Matthew is survived by his parents – Jason & Tanis Kempe, his sister – Jessica Kempe, his grandparents – Ron & Karen Kempe (aka B & Pa) and Mike & Debbie Lehocky (aka Nanna & Papa Mike), his great grandmas – Ellen Delyea and Velma Lehocky, his uncles and aunts – Kurtis & Meagan Kempe and Joey Holland & Melisa Lehocky (aka Auntie Lissa), cousins – Allivia Kempe, Avery Lorentz Kempe, and Tyler Holland, several great aunts & uncles, numerous friends, and his girlfriend - Jorgie Campbell.

Donations can be made in Matthew’s memory to Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation - 28 Oki Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T3B 6A8 or STARS Donations – 1441 Aviation Park NE, Box 570, Calgary, AB, T2E 8M7.