January 2, 1936 — September 16, 2025

Carolyn Kempston (nee Matthews), was born in Cumberland BC in 1936 and grew up in Nanaimo. As an only child, she spent many happy summers at Union Bay surrounded by grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins; as she lived in the Interior for the majority of her adult life, trips to visit family on Vancouver Island were frequent and special. Carolyn’s athletic career began at the tender age of 5 when she began figure skating at the Nanaimo Civic Arena, where she was awarded solo performances in almost every annual Rotary Carnival. She often said that she and her parents “lived at the arena”. Carolyn regularly attended summer school in Vancouver and competed at the provincial level, eventually placing third in a Western Canada figure skating competition and maintained a lifelong passion for the sport.

When Carolyn was in her early teens, her father built a 32 foot cabin cruiser, the Whirlaway, and she had many fond memories of cruising around the Vancouver Island and Washington coasts with her parents and friends. She spent hours rowing her dinghy wherever they were anchored, and many years later bought a row boat so she could row on Christina Lake. After graduation, Carolyn went to Normal School in Vancouver and became a teacher at Kerrisdale Elementary.

On a ski holiday to Red Mountain she met Marv, a local skier and UBC Forestry student; the relationship continued upon their return to Vancouver, and they were married in Nanaimo in1959. Soon after, they welcomed Russell into the world, followed quickly by Sally, all while Marv attended UBC. Upon graduation, the moving began; Carolyn became an expert at packing up the entire family and household at a moment’s notice and relocating to various towns around the province as Marv established his career in the forest industry. At every stop, no longer how long the stay and limited the budget, Carolyn always made sure the family home was comfortable and well-decorated. Some of her happiest memories came from living in Golden BC for three years, where Carolyn was involved in many clubs, sports and activities, and where the family made many life-long friends.

The final move was to Kamloops in 1973, where Carolyn joined two bridge clubs, which she continued with until she was in her eighties. She also volunteered with the Red Cross setting up blood donor clinics, volunteered with the Brock Figure Skating Club, sewed costumes, dresses and even leather chaps for the kids, and followed the family around to horse shows, figure skating competitions and any number of other activities. She also skied with the family and participated in a variety of sports on her own, including golf, bowling and swimming. She also volunteered at Overlander School, assisting children with swimming and skating.

Carolyn was actively involved in politics for several years and never backed down from a good debate. Carolyn and Marv were members of the Kamloops Gyro Club and made lifelong friendships. They spent many years travelling to a variety of locations around BC and Washington for conventions and later enjoyed reminiscing about all the fun and craziness at Gyro functions. Always active, Carolyn skated until she was in her sixties, biked, golfed, swam and skied into her eighties. She took her last run at her beloved Sun Peaks when she was eighty-five years old. As her activity level declined, she loved to watch sports on TV, including everything from figure skating to football. She rarely missed a Canucks game and loved to “coach” from her living room. An avid reader, “Anne of Green Gables” was her favourite book; as an “Island girl of a certain temperament”, Anne held a special place in her heart. It was always her wish to visit PEI and Green Gables, but as her vision and memory declined, she was sadly unable to read or travel.

Thanks to Carolyn, the Kempston family was never complete without a dog, until the loss of Beau, her beloved but neurotic poodle. After that, she welcomed with open arms the variety of pets that arrived on her doorstep with children and grandchildren.

Carolyn was fiercely loyal to her loved ones and was her children’s greatest cheerleader. She was proud of her grandchildren and loved them dearly, and it was an absolute joy for her to visit with her great-grandchildren. Unfortunately Carolyn began showing signs of dementia several years ago but managed to live at home with Marv, who looked after her until he became ill in the summer of 2024. At Overlander Long-Term Care, Carolyn was an active participant in all the daily activities. She was quite popular with many of the staff who claimed to enjoy her “spiciness’. After a bad fall in early September, Carolyn passed away in the night on September 16th.

Carolyn was predeceased in 2024 by Marv, her husband of 65 years. She is survived by her children, Russell (Jane) and Sally (Mark), grandchildren Andrew (Courtney), Willem, Hannah (Tyler) and Zoe (Matt), and great grandchildren Jameson, Violet, Callie, Miller and Llewyn. She is also survived by sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Special thanks to Dr. Swart and Dominique for all their care and attention over the years, as well as to the staff and volunteers at Overlander Long Term-Care, who did their best to make Carolyn’s last year as comfortable as possible. There will be no service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Overlander Long-Term Care.

• Date : 2025-09-16
• Location : Kamloops