Ont. paramedic killed in Swiss avalanche

Nikky Nagy in an undated snowboarding photo. (Courtesy: George Nagy)

A local paramedic who died suddenly while on vacation in Switzerland is being remembered by her colleagues and family as a bright, caring person with a big heart and an adventurous spirit.

Nicole (Nikky) Nagy, 25, was from Waterloo but worked in Perth County.

On April 1, Nicole and her boyfriend were snowboarding when they were both killed in an avalanche.

“You hardly could find such a person with a big heart and a beautiful soul,” said her father George Nagy.

George said Nicole was high energy from childhood, playing rugby and football and spending lots of time outside.

“Her nature, she was extremely adventurous. She was a little daredevil,” he explained. “She didn’t care about make-up or girly stuff. She was just an outdoor girl and loved nature and animals and everybody loved her.”

George said becoming a paramedic was Nicole’s calling – something she had wanted to do since high school – and the family was so proud to see her living her dream of helping and caring for people.

Outside of work, Nicole was a non-stop adventurer.

“She wanted to cram so much in her life as possible,” said George. “It was like she knew that she needed to do everything as fast as possible. She was travelling with friends to Japan, to Costa Rica – it was just go, go, go, go.”

Paramedic services in mourning

In Perth County, where Nicole worked, flags are flying at half-mast at both the county courthouse and Perth paramedic services headquarters in Stratford

“Nikky was a bright, caring amazing member of our paramedic services community and family and was always eager to help others,” Paramedic Chief Mike Adair said in an interview with CTV News.

“Nikky was a joy to be around and we certainly are mourning her loss.”

Nicole had worked for Perth County as a primary care paramedic since April 2022.

Mike said her colleagues are still trying to come to terms with what happened.

“It’s not something you expect – when someone is going to spend some time away from work and do something they enjoy, as the family had mentioned, snowboarding was one of her favourite things to do. It’s sad news and we are processing that as paramedics services.”

The Chief of the La Ronge Region Fire Department in Saskatchewan also expressed condolences, saying Nicole “brought such joy to everyone who met her and always lifted our spirits even on the hard days.”

Mike said paramedic services will likely plan additional ways to honour Nicole in the coming days and thanked the community for their support.

“That has been something that has been very impactful for our paramedics,” he said.

George said he’s also taking comfort in the outpouring of support and messages he’s received from Nicole’s many friends. He also knows his daughter died doing something she loved in one of her favourite places – the mountains.

“God took her, now she can snowboard with her boyfriend in eternity,” he said.