Lindsay Leigh Kimmett was born in Calgary, Alberta. Lindsay lived most of her life in the town of Cochrane. Her parents are my Uncle Kelly and my Aunt Dianne. She had two younger brothers, Taylor and Reid. Lindsay was the first Kimmett grandchild and was adored by everyone in the family. My aunt and uncle couldn’t ask for a better daughter. She loved to “mother” her brothers from an early age. As they grew older, Lindsay always liked to help her brothers with their homework. She loved to read her books at bedtime. When she was really young she would ask her parents before her bedtime, “What are we doing tomorrow and what should I dream about?” Lindsay loved helping people throughout her life. She loved her cousins and was always the first one to hold a new cousin, welcoming them into the family. When she was young Lindsay played ringette but she was passionate about hockey and played on a number of hockey teams later on.
Sadly, my favorite cousin passed away last year when she was a passenger in a car that went off the road near Cochrane on Feb 17th. While alive, she was always an inspiration to her cousins and all the people that knew her. Her death changed my life forever. I will always remember her and will try to be more like her. Lindsay had many great traits. My favorite ones are: caring, brave, smart, athletic, confident, fun, leader and inspirational. Lindsay cared about people and that was why she was studying to be a doctor. She wanted to make the world a better place to live in. Lindsay loved to travel and had traveled to almost as many places as she was old. Her favorite saying was written by St. Augustine: “The world is like a book, those who don’t travel read only a page,” which describes Lindsay’s passion for traveling. She was brave enough to take on challenges like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro even though she was very sick at the time.
She was fun to be around and always had time to piggyback her young cousins around. She loved chocolate almost as much as she loved the Flames. She always liked it when the Oilers lost! Lindsay lived her life to the fullest and balanced hard work with lots of fun time. She loved hosting parties for her friends and was planning one on the day that she died.
To be a hero you should be nice, caring and helpful to other people. Lindsay is my hero because she was all of those things. She has inspired everyone who knew her and even those who did not, from around the world, to change their lives. She had many heroes but her biggest heroes were her family, they inspired her to do great things. Lindsay lived in Cochrane all her life and would come back there even when she went to university in Calgary. Lindsay won many awards for academic achievement and was the class valedictorian for Cochrane High in 1999. She scored 99.7 % on her MCAT’s. Lindsay received many school scholarships. This year Lindsay would have finished medical school in Calgary. The University of Calgary is honoring Lindsay’s memory by giving her family her medical degree this spring.
I chose Lindsay for My Hero Project because she inspired me to be better. Through her foundation, The Lindsay Leigh Kimmett Foundation, many great things will continue to be done for less fortunate people. Girls that might not otherwise play hockey will receive scholarships, and medical students who specialize in Emergency Medicine will receive scholarships. Lindsay would be so proud of everything good that has been done in her memory. I’ve learned that you have to make the most of each day, like Lindsay, as you never know how long you will be on this earth. The foundation will continue to do great things to continue Lindsay’s legacy and I am proud that she was my special cousin.
Lindsay’s nickname in university hockey was “Monumental”. It means that you live your life huge and you’re always growing. Lindsay’s life was monumental. Lindsay was very special. She lived in Cochrane and was part of a great family. She was athletic, first playing ringette then later on she played hockey. She was passionate about many things and she did many great things in her short life. She has inspired many people to travel and continue on with their studies. I carry a piece of her with me everyday as a reminder to live my life as she did “monumentally”. When I play hockey, her number #25 is with me always. She loved many things and many people loved her. This is a quote from Lindsay’s valedictorian speech that I will always remember:
We must learn to treasure life and seize the day because the more we accomplish in life the less we regret and we can leave knowing that we accomplished everything we could in our short time on earth.
“Adjectives” written by Lindsay’s 11 year old cousin Carly Kimmett
