He was a well-behaved little boy. In photos, he would always be making goofy faces and smiling. He was a natural athlete who excelled in every sport he tried out for. When his mom wasn't able to make it home on time, he would cook his brothers and sisters' dinner.

He loved camping with friends and family and once he graduated high school he was enrolled in the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) broadcasting program. His father was the coach on a myriad of his sports teams, watching his son grow into a charismatic, vibrant young man. And although the promising life of 19-year-old Kalix Langenau was cut short when he was murdered on February 15, 2020, his legacy lives on.

On June 7, the Kalix Legacy Fund, which was founded in 2020, was the recipient of a donation from the 100 Women Who Care Airdrie. John Langenau, Kalix's father presented to the group, though he said it was a difficult task as the sorrow of losing his son is evident in his voice and his tears.

"It pretty much started with Kalix, because before he left for Vancouver, he donated his last cheque to a family who couldn't afford sports. He actually talked to Kim at Explosive Edge, with Chris, as well as my wife about how to help families out; how to start a charity," he said. "Because we've been involved with charities for a while, so he was looking into starting something himself. So that's why we continued it afterwards: to honour him."

The fund uses its donations to cover equipment, fees, training, and all other aspects for youth and their families who may otherwise not have the ability to pay for it. Langenau said it was in many ways how the family is healing, through giving back. However, there are days that are more difficult than others for the Langenau family.

"I keep on emphasizing to the kids, that there's no shame in crying and showing their feelings and being sad and those are all going to be natural feelings and that we're feeling the same too. When one of us has a hard day, we are really there to help each other out," he said. "We will never get closure. It doesn't matter how many years he gets. It will never bring Kalix back."

John Langenau said that although he and Kalix's mother separated when Kalix was young, he still made a point of being a large part of his son's life, from coaching his Timbit's hockey and soccer team all the way to coaching his U10 soccer team.

While the pain and sorrow of losing his son may never cease, father of late Kalix Langenau said in giving back to the community, he and his family are healing (Photo provided by John Langenau)While the pain and sorrow of losing his son may never cease, the father of late Kalix Langenau said in giving back to the community, he and his family are healing (Photo provided by John Langenau)

 

"He enjoyed spending time with his buddies and he always went out of his way to help people. My neighbour had testicular cancer, and there was a charity hockey game for him and Kalix played goal to raise money for him."

Of course, like any teenage son, Kalix had a cheeky side to him. While his father would try to instruct him on the fact that life wasn't always fair and that one has to learn from mistakes in life, Kalix, let his dad know, exactly what he was thinking.

"His favourite saying to me is: Dad not everything is a life lesson."

Kalix's passion for hockey made him want to pursue sports broadcasting and journalism.

"He is very into sports statistics. He knows almost all the NHL players and all their stats. So I believe that would have been his primary career if he wouldn't have left."

And what would Kalix think of his beloved Edmonton Oilers and their exit from the playoffs? His father doesn't think for a moment his son would have been disappointed.

"I think he would have thought that we had a very adverse year with the ups and downs and getting to the conference finals actually, we did really well."  

To date, the Kalix Legacy Fund has amassed approximately 30 thousand dollars. 

"We knew that we wanted him to be remembered for who he was and for what he was doing as part of the community already. [We wanted him to be remembered] for his bright, vibrant personality and not as a homicide victim."

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