Georgina Lightning, 63, on Sept. 5, after being fatally injured in a rodeo accident. An Edmonton-born actor, producer, director and acting coach, whose credits included DreamKeeper, Johnny Greyeyes, Christmas in the Clouds, and Smoke Signals, among many other projects, Lightning also guest starred in episodes of Trickster, Blackstone, Walker, Texas Ranger and West Wing. Her 2008 directorial debut, sci-fi thriller Older Than America, secured over 23 awards and made her the first North American Indigenous Woman to direct a major feature film. Lightning went on to co-found Edmonton-based Tribal Alliance Productions, committed to producing media told from a native prospective. She also formed Native Media Network, a group dedicated to the promotion and advancement of First Nations talent. She was filming a documentary on the Enoch Cree Nation when she was fatally injured
rych mills, 80, on Sept. 2. Born in Kitchener, mills worked in broadcasting, first as an announcer and then in production at CKKW-FM and CFCA-FM. He retired in December 2011. Mills had an enduring passion for local history, authoring several books: Victoria Park:100 Years of a Park and Its People (1996) and Kitchener (Berlin) 1880-1960 (2002). He also contributed local history column “Flash from the Past” to the Waterloo Region Record and was a longstanding member of the Waterloo Historical Society, serving on the board for more than 25 years and as its president from 2004-08.
Donnie Graham (Brown), 69, on Sept. 4. Graham began his career at CHNS and CHFX Halifax in the late 1970s, before returning to his native Cape Breton as an announcer and program director at 1270 CJCB and K94, initially hosting the midday show, and later the morning show where he was known as “Donnie in the Morning.” He went on to host call-in show, CJCB Talkback. He transitioned to radio sales in the early 2000s, and did a three-year stint as the District Manager for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). He last job in radio was serving as Sales Manager at CKCH-FM Sydney from 2009-14, before closing out his career as a commercial insurance broker.
Chris Kirkwood, 45, following a brief illness. After graduating from Ryerson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, New Media, Kirkwood started his media career with CHUM Television in the early 2000s as a Motion and Graphic Designer. He went on to hold similar positions with theScore, Sportsnet, and later Global News where he served as a set specialist and the Graphic Designer for VR sets. For the past year, he’d served as a senior designer at CBC Toronto.
Ed Kargl (Ed Karl), 83, on Aug. 27. Best known as one of the original CFUN “Good Guys” and a television commentator for All Star Wrestling, Kargl’s earlier on-air work included DJ’ing at Vancouver’s CKWX-AM from 1962-64. He went on to DJ on CFUN from 1964-67, before joining CKVU-TV as a sports commentator from 1976-79. A long run as the host of All-Star Wrestling on CHAN-TV/CTV followed from 1979-91. After his broadcasting career, he served as Vice President of Business Development for the Fraser River Port Authority until 2007.
Keith DeLong, 84, on Aug. 13. A Halifax-based sound and recording engineer for CBC for 33 years, DeLong served as part of the public broadcaster’s drama technical team. Outside of work, DeLong was known as an accomplished guitar player, playing with numerous groups across many genres, including classic country band, Silver Dollar, for 26 years. He was nominated for induction in the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
