A local family man will be lovingly remembered this weekend at a fundraising sports tournament in his honour.
On Saturday, Sept. 16, a co-ed slow-pitch tournament in Balmoral will honour the memory of Wes Killbery while also raising funds for CancerCare Manitoba.
In November 2022, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer. He lost his battle six months later.
“He was responding well to treatment and we were really confident we were going to get more time. He was a true warrior to the very end. The cancer was all over. It had fractured his spine,” said his wife J’aime.
“He re-learned to walk again and overcame so many obstacles in such a short period, with an entire community rallying for us and supporting us the entire time. Unfortunately, after five months of chemo, his mutation found another way to grow quicker. Shortly after, he lost his battle — six months to the day he was diagnosed.”
Wes loved playing all sports but had a special affinity for slow-pitch, so a group of Balmoral friends and family came up with the idea for this weekend’s tournament.
“We played in Teulon, Stony Mountain and our hometown in Balmoral. Our favourite weekend was always the annual tournament and just spending time with friends,” J’aime said.
“A group of us from Balmoral thought there was no better way to honour him and help raise money for others.”
The event will take place at the Balmoral Recreation Centre and ball diamonds, with the first games starting at 9 a.m.
Although the event is full with 15 teams participating, J’aime encourages everyone to come out and enjoy all the event has to offer, including beer gardens, a 50/50 draw, a home-run tournament and a silent auction featuring donations from many local businesses.
“We would love to have as many people out to the event as we can. Come have a drink at the beer gardens and watch some baseball. It’s all for a good cause,” J’aime said.
“If anyone has free time and wants to volunteer, we are always looking for help.”
Adding to the excitement, Manitoba Hydro trades employees, who are Wes’s former co-workers, will run a dunk tank at the event. In addition, Tim Rothwell, a trades training specialist, has built and donated a one-of-a-kind whiskey barrel cooler that will be auctioned off at the fundraiser.
“The cooler is emblazoned with the Killer Bee logo in reference to Wes’s hockey nickname,” J’aime said. “Rumour has it, I might be sitting in the dunk tank for the cause.”
The organizers hope the event will raise $10,000 for CancerCare Manitoba, with a focus on lung cancer.
“Most people aren’t diagnosed with lung cancer until Stage 4. Lung cancer is the highest mortality rate and the least funded of all cancers. Wes had never smoked a day in his life,” J’aime said.
“My hope with this fundraiser is to help with the research so that other families don’t have to go through what we did and get funding so that researchers can come up with early diagnosis and ways to treat this aggressive cancer. All the money will be donated to CancerCare Manitoba, specifically to ALK lung cancer.”
At the same time, the event will pay tribute to the unforgettable family man who is missed greatly by J’aime and their two children, 11-year-old Tamsen and 15-year-old Easton.
“We are learning to live a new way of life without Wes. He was such a big presence in the community always volunteering and giving back — a one-of-a-kind guy,” J’aime said.
“We are hoping to carry on his legacy by trying to live positive lives and give back as much as we can.”
They anticipate the fundraiser will become an annual event, and plans are already in the works for next year’s slow-pitch tournament.
Anyone interested in volunteering at the Sept. 16 event can contact J’aime at 204-880-5437.
For those who can’t make it but would like to contribute to the cause, they can e-transfer donations to blakemauthe@live.com no later than Sept. 15. Any donations over $15 are eligible for a tax receipt if donors include their full name and mailing address information in the e-transfer.
