Obituary of Alasdair Worrall

Alasdair Brian Worrall, Kingston OntarioOn March 22, 2019 our beloved son’s courageous battle with cancer ended peacefully at Kingston General Hospital. Taken too soon, Alasdair’s compassion, brilliance, and courage touched the lives of everyone who knew him. Alasdair was born in Halifax, but army life took the family to Fredericton and finally to Kingston, where Alasdair attended Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School. It was clear from an early age that Alasdair was special, and that his curiosity and intelligence could take him anywhere he would want to go. Early in life he demonstrated a love of history and an aptitude for the sciences, and he later discovered fencing – a sport that would engage him until he went off to pursue his civil engineering degree at Carleton University in 2016.Alasdair never spoke ill of anyone, and showed everyone in his life the respect and compassion that he would hope for in return. His ultimate challenge began in September 2018 with a diagnosis of Stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma – an aggressive cancer most often affecting children under 10. It is so rare in adults that there is little data and no proven treatments. Alasdair faced this bombshell with his usual intelligence and incredible maturity, comforting his mother and thanking the doctor, who was almost in tears after giving the news.Over the next six months Alasdair’s determination and grace never waned. Despite long chemotherapy and radiation sessions and repeated hospital admissions with infections due to his weakened immune system, Alasdair always maintained a positive outlook and remained mentally active, even as his body started to fail him. On March 15 Alasdair was admitted to hospital for the last time. His last week was spent in the ICU surrounded by his family and a team of incredible health care professionals who were touched by this amazing young man. Right up to the end he tried to comfort his family, and thanked the doctors and nurses every time they did something for him, no matter how small. Despite a heavy regimen of pain medication his mind stayed active, asking for his mother to read to him from a history book, correcting her pronunciation of people and place names all the while.We will remember Alasdair at a service at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church at 1111 Taylor Kidd Blvd. in Kingston at 11 am on Friday March 29. There will be a reception at the church following the service, and we will be laying Alasdair to rest at Cataraqui Cemetery afterwards. He is survived by his mother Joan (Geraghty) Worrall, his father Bruce Worrall, his older sister Rose Worrall (Mike DeWitt), and his younger brother Eamon Worrall. In lieu of flowers, Alasdair asked for donations to the Cancer Centre, care of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation or your local cancer centre. Arrangements entrusted to CATARAQUI CEMETERY AND FUNERAL SERVICES.