Retired CBC host Cathy Alex remembered for her sense of humour, passion for journalism

Alex died on mon followers a years-long combat with multiple myeloma. She was 62. Patch she entered remittal in 2024, her cancer returned this past summer, according to a blog post made by her family.

Born in Regina, Alex spent much of her childhood in Guelph, Ont. She studied human kinetics at the University of Guelph and received her journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Alex covered a wide range of stories over the years.

In 2018, the Association of Ontario Midwives presented her with a media award for her coverage of midwifery issues across the province.

“She had a great on-air presence, and behind the scenes, she was a fount of information, able to recall or suggest the source or contact for any story you were working on.”

“Perhaps the thing I'll remember most about Cathy was her sense of humour and love of a good laugh,” Ellis said.

Ellis, who formerly hosted a column about the outdoors, recalled a time on air with Alex when he described how painted turtles freeze nearly solid in the winter through a process called brumation. He compared them to Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen head. 

“She completely lost it on air, laughing so hard she was in tears and basically unable to speak. It was this openness and realness that made so many listeners love her, and it is what I'll miss the most,” Ellis said.

Alex’s obituary also describes her many interests, including camping, canoeing, baking, singing, nature walks, reading, gardening and, most of all, swimming.

She also spent her free time giving back to the community. For many years, she organized a reading of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol with local personalities and volunteered annually for the Terry Fox Fun, Desmoulins said.

Alex is survived by her husband Alisdair and two daughters, and her mother, sisters and other family.

The family made a blog post about her passing on Monday.

“This is not how we thought things would go, and certainly not how we wanted things to go," the post says. "But with that being said, we are so incredibly grateful for the year of remission that we got. We had the chance to make many more memories as a family, and we’ll cherish that forever.

“We also just wanted to take a minute to thank all of the wonderful people who have supported us these last two years. It takes a village and we certainly have a big one.”

A memorial service will be held at Sargent and Sons Funeral Home in Thunder Bay on Jan. 14 starting at 11:30 a.m. ET, her obituary says. The family asks that donations in Alex’s memory be made to either Myeloma Canada or the Northern Cancer Fund.

Reporter

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