Jessica Irwin

If you’ve noticed how awful the weather’s been in Calgary this past week, it’s because Jessica left this world on March 24, 2026, and took the sunshine with her.

Jess was a mother, a daughter, a sister, and one hell of a friend.

She passed away in hospital after a battle with several strokes that ultimately took her life. While we do not know what caused Jessica’s strokes, we do know that through all of her intense health struggles this past year, she fought harder than anyone should ever have to, and that’s because she wanted to be here.

In one year alone, she overcame serious medical issues, including a leg amputation last year, plus brain surgery this year. As her family, we believe she did her very best to stay alive through it all because she was so fulfilled by the love from every wonderful friend she made throughout her life.

She is survived by her daughter Lily Dupuis, her parents Bill (Squirrel) and Rita Irwin, and her life partner of a decade, Jes Burnett. In her final days, she was surrounded by the love of these very people. Her daughter was able to hold her hand through it all up until her last breath, so she was never alone for even a second.

Her soul now rejoins her beloved sister, Stephanie, as well as all of the grandparents, babas and didis, and pets who got the chance to be loved by her.

Born on her dad’s birthday (September 24) in 1978, Jess will always be remembered as our entire family’s greatest gift. Even if you only knew her as an acquaintance, you know that she was always the life of the party. She lived for one thing: fun. And if there’s one, simple word that can describe who she was as a person, it’s that one.

Jess was definitely here for a good time and not a long enough time. What gives us comfort is knowing that she made more of an impact on others in her short 47 years than most people could make in a full, typical lifetime.

As a single mom, she became her daughter’s whole family. She was not just a mom, but a sister, a dad, and a best friend all packaged in one. That amount of responsibility can only be placed on someone with a heart big enough to withstand it.

An artist, a dancer, an adventurer, Jess was always finding a way to make the world a more beautiful place. She will be remembered as the funniest, smartest, most caring, and certainly the loudest person in every room. Her warm laughter filled a space so large that not even a thousand orchestras could replace it.

The most difficult truth we have to share about her is that, even in death, you will still be unable to beat Jess at Jeopardy.

In all seriousness, what we loved most about Jess is that could be the most flawed version of yourself in front of her and she would accept and love you regardless, without limitations or expectations, because she chose compassion over judgement every single time. Her one goal in life was to leave people better than she found them, and while all of this feels confusing and cruel, at least we know for certain that she achieved that goal. Jess will live on through the love between others, the wildest parties, the funniest jokes, the tears we shed, and most of all, the sunshine.

While this obituary may be long, there really are no words adequate enough to describe the pain of this immense loss or the greatness of the legacy she will leave behind.

As of right now, a celebration of life is being planned by her family. We will share that experience with her loved ones once preparations are finalized. For now, we’re just focused on missing our girl.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jessica Irwin, please visit our floral store.