Hundreds gather to remember Make-A-Wish and community advocate Tysen Lefebvre

Hundreds of people gathered at the Canadian Tire Centre Tuesday night to honour the life of community advocate Tysen Lefebvre. CTV’s Shaun Vardon reports.

Hundreds of friends, family, and community members gathered in Ottawa on Tuesday night to celebrate the life of Tysen Lefebvre, a well-known community and accessibility advocate who died on Christmas Day.

He was born with Pfeiffer Syndrome Type 2, a rare genetic condition that causes skull bones to fuse prematurely. He worked tirelessly to support the community, including raising $1 million for Make-A-Wish Canada in 2018.

Tysen was 25 years old when he passed away.

A celebration of life was held at the Canadian Tire Centre, where community leaders and the people who knew Tysen best spoke about his lasting impact on Ottawa and the world.

Manon Courcelle and her daughter Dominique attended the ceremony Tuesday. Dominique volunteered with Tysen at the Make-A-Wish Foundation as an ambassador, helping to grant wishes to other kids.

“Everyone who knows him loved him,” said Dominique. “We could see it tonight. He touched the hearts of a lot of people.”

His mother, Linda Lefebvre, told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron her son ways always a joy and was always focused on others.

“He ways always Tysen. He was always happy and smiling and laughing,” she said. “Even from a very young age, always concerned about other people. He would have just undergone a major surgery and seen a baby with a cast and would say, ‘Mommy, look, the poor baby!’ Never about himself. He faced everything with a big smile and made life so joyful.”

Tysen’s motto was “let’s go have some fun!” Linda Lefebvre says it came from their days of going to camp.

“We would hop in the car, and he would always say, ‘Okay, let’s go have some fun!’” she said. “One day, he had this idea to make it like a hashtag, LGHSF. It took us a few times, but we finally got it, so for a couple of years we’d get in the car and say, ‘LGHSF,’ and we had our grandkids doing it. He always joked that he was going to make it go viral.”

Tysen’s “Mission to a Million” for the Make-A-Wish Foundation was inspired by his own experience with the organization after he got to meet Adam Sandler in Los Angeles, California in 2012.

His mom says when he was there, he learned about Sandler’s own philanthropic efforts.

“All over his walls and on tables there was stuff people sent him thanking him… helping people who lost their home in a fire, helping vets, helping wish kids, anyone you could think of. Adam Sandler did more than you could ever know,” she said. “Tysen walked around and read all that. We got home from the Wish trip, and he was very inspired by that.”

At 13, Tysen decided to embark on his mission to raise $1 million for the Make-A-Wish foundation and he did it five years later, allowing 100 children to achieve their wishes. His goal was met on Oct. 29, 2018, live on CTV News Ottawa, when a last-minute donation helped him hit that $1 million milestone.

Nearly 30 people spoke about Tysen’s legacy Tuesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.

“He did more in his short lifetime than most of us would do in our lifetimes,” said former Ottawa mayor Jim Watson.

“You were so much more than our son,” said Tysen’s father Scott Lefebvre. “You were our friend, our travelling companion, our counsellor, our inspiration. You were our everything. There is a huge hole in our hearts. We miss you and will love you forever.”

His mom says so many people whose lives were touched by Tysen’s generosity and personality have come forward in the days since his passing.

“Moreso than we even knew. I know he’s always had time for people and always had a kind word,” she said. “We go to a campground, Sleepy Cedars, that he absolutely loved and we’d go for a walk. He’d ask somebody, ‘How’s your daughter’s dog?’ or something. He just remembers what people tell him and he’s interested, and he wants to hear. He was just such a great person.”

Anyone who would like to make an honorary donation in Tysen’s name is asked to consider one of the following charities: Make-A-Wish Canada, The Ottawa Capital City Condors, and The Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind.

“Tysen was a hockey player. He loved hockey, he loved being part of the team, and he loved the Capital City Condors,” Linda Lefebvre said. “And Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, every summer he would organize a dog show and raise money for the Canadian Guide Dogs, so that was very close to his heart, too.”

-With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Shaun Vardon and Katelyn Wilson