Ashton Rice

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Ashton, our precious son, little brother, cousin, nephew, grandson, uncle, and dear friend. Remembered, missed, and loved fiercely and dearly by us all.

Ashton Brennan Johnson Rice was born on July 4th, 1997, at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. He came into the world five minutes before his twin sister, Breanna, and was welcomed with joy into a loving family. Ashton and Breanna spent time in the NICU surrounded by love and care from their parents, Chandra and Steven, two older sisters, Alaysha and Chantal, their grandparents, extended family, as well as support from the hospital staff. Breanna passed away on July 7th, 1997, and a piece of all of our hearts has always been missing since then. Yet, how grateful and full of joy our family was when Ashton was healthy enough to come home and soon showed us his endearing personality as he grew into a strong, adventurous, and curious baby.

From a young age, Ashton loved building things and figuring out how things worked. He enjoyed magic tricks and learning new skills and planning playful pranks. Summers were filled with happy memories of birthday parties, camping trips with family and friends, water skiing, playing board games, and exploring. Ashton and his sisters and cousins also spent many memorable days together under the care of one of their grandmothers, Joyce or Grace, who would often have to work hard to keep up with Ashton and his fearless nature. He also enjoyed trips around the world, including to Disney World and cruises with his family, where he would get to show his competitive and daring side, winning races and games and going on any adventure presented to him with no fear.

He always had a variety of interests, including horseback riding, motorcycles, playing baseball, working on his car, music, and gaming. In high school, he won championships for his horseback riding and recently hoped to start riding his horse, Oz, again. Ashton was also a loyal friend, keeping close to his best childhood friends, Jarod and Kyle, for his whole life. After graduating from Ernest Manning High School in 2015, Ashton studied Science at the University of Calgary and had many happy memories during this time with his friends and his high school sweetheart, Lauren, including exploring places like Bali, Europe, and Korea together.

More recently, he had studied to get his pilot license and was looking forward to putting in his flying hours as he pursued his pilot career. Ashton always loved travelling and hoped to one day experience living abroad. His most recent trip was in January to California, where he enjoyed going on a cruise with a close-knit friend group from his gaming community. Ashton had started a new job and found satisfaction in the independence of setting his own hours and meeting new people. He will always be remembered as an adventurous, playful, passionate, curious, loyal, and loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, uncle, and dear friend who knew how to make us all smile. To quote one of Ashton’s favourite artists,

“The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.”

Ashton knew nothing is guaranteed, but he still faced his life with courage even when it was difficult and was always planning and looking ahead towards possibilities. Ashton rode the crazy ride that life is, facing struggles as we all do, growing, giving, overcoming challenges, learning, loving, and being loved. Ashton, we will always love you beyond words, and we were grateful to have you in our lives.

May you and Breanna rest together in peace until we can see you again.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 23rd, 5:00 to 7:30 pm at the Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Mental Health Association. If you or someone you know is dealing with mental health struggles, please do not hesitate to reach out for help.

https://cmha.ca/find-help/how-to-get-help/
https://cmha.ca/how-you-can-help/donate/

He is gone, and yet we remain; and what remains is what we have learned from him.

Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in times of sorrow.

And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.

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