Obituary for Graham Paul Carty
Graham Paul Carty
July 17, 1965 – June 30, 2022
Graham Paul Carty, beloved husband of Leann Hackman-Carty, passed away in Calgary on June 30, 2022 at the age of 56 years.
Graham will be forever loved and remembered by his wife Leann Hackman-Carty and his children Jordan and Sage. He will be dearly missed by his mother Anne Carty of Brockville, ON; father-in-law Jack Hackman of Namao, AB; brothers Sean Carty of Calgary, AB and Neal Carty (Frances McCart) of Etobicoke, ON; nephew Evan; and sister-in-law Deidre Hackman of Edmonton, AB.
Graham was predeceased by his father Tony Carty; and his mother-in-law Shirley Hackman.
In 1963, Anne and Tony Carty left their home in England, along with newborn Sean, to pursue greater opportunities in Canada for their family. In 1964, brother Neal was born. One year later, baby brother Graham joined the family, completing the Carty family. Now, with three boys under the age of 3, life would never be the same again.
Early life for Graham and his siblings was centered in a townhouse complex in Brockville, Ontario where they played outside for many long hours with neighbors and friends. Given they had no family in Canada, many of the original bonds they established growing up here continued to hold for many years to come.
When Graham was in primary school, the Carty’s moved to a new house on Borden Crescent where Anne continues to live today.
A big part of Graham’s high school years was spent building and enjoying the family’s beloved cottage on Bass Lake. When the family wasn’t cutting down trees, hammering nails, or pouring concrete, they could be found swimming, waterskiing, playing with their dog Debit, and jumping into the water off granite cliffs.
In high school, Graham became quite an accomplished saxophone player, performing in both concert and jazz bands, graduating from Thousand Islands Secondary School.
He then went on to study Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, in pursuit of his dream to be an astronaut. While he did get to work on the Canadarm at Spar Aerospace, his life was destined for other things.
Shortly after graduation from university, Graham had an opportunity to go to Germany for a year to work for SAP, which at that time was a relatively new software company with big global plans. During that year, he had the opportunity to travel around Europe, and establish yet another set of lifetime friendships.
Upon return to Canada, Graham started working at Omnilogic. A few years later, when the opportunity to open an office in Calgary arose, Graham was amongst a small group of single guys, who volunteered (or as he liked to say, “voluntold”) to go open up the Western frontier. Here, Graham truly found his niche. He loved his years at Omnilogic. It was exciting, new, and fun. Here he had a chance to work on a
number of SAP implementations across various industries, in a number of locations.
In October 1995, a fateful blind lunch date was arranged by one of Graham’s colleagues at Omnilogic. It was here that he met his soulmate and wife-to-be, Leann. While their personalities were very different, he knew they had many shared values and interests, which mattered more.
On August 23, 1997, Graham and Leann were married in Calgary, and moved into their first home on Elbow Drive. Here they continued to pursue their joint love of travel, scuba diving, motorcycles, visiting with friends and family, working hard, and raising their dog Mambo.
In 2004, their son Jordan arrived, which was a very proud moment for Graham. Two years later, Graham’s Princess Warrior Sage arrived. The family was now complete.
Given Graham’s strong connection to cottage life, he and Leann bought a plot of land, and built their weekend getaway at Gull Lake. There, Graham spent thousands of hours fixing, creating, renovating, and landscaping the property. It soon became a great spot to celebrate Christmas, New Years, birthdays and holidays.
Jordan and Sage were God’s gift to Graham. They profoundly changed his life forever. He loved taking them to their various activities and was very involved in their lives. Whether it be music lessons, band concerts, sports practices and games, summer camps, weekends at the cabin in Gull Lake, or simply hanging out in Calgary. His heart was full of love for them. You would often hear him speaking to friends and family about Jordan and Sage’s latest and greatest adventures and achievements.
In 2019, Graham flew out to Brockville to spend time with his ailing father Tony before he passed away. A great loss of his mentor, idol and friend.
To those who had the honour of meeting and knowing Graham, words like: kind, funny, engaging, supportive, and committed family man came to mind. He valued integrity, trust, and honesty deeply. His clear priorities were his faith, family, and friends.
On June 30, Graham’s life was cut short far too early, when he was in a fatal vehicle accident, leaving his family and friends in shock. To all who knew him, it just doesn’t make sense. However, Graham believed that when God decides to call you home, it’s time to go. While we will miss his smile, humour, and earthly presence, we know he is in a far better place, and are thankful for the years we had with him. His memory will continue to live on forever in our hearts and minds.
Graham Carty. Husband, Father, Son, Son-in-law, Brother, Brother-in-law, Cousin, Mentor, Colleague, Dog Lover, Master Fixer of All Things, and Friend. A life well lived.
Funeral Service will be held at RockPointe Church – Bearspaw Campus (255024 Lochend Road, Calgary) on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 10:30 am with visitation one hour prior to service. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be livestreamed. To view the livestream click here.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Graham may be made to Samaritan’s Purse via phone to 1-800-663-6500 or via mail to 20 Hopewell Way NE, Calgary, AB, T3J 5H5 and please note that donation is being made in memory of Graham Carty.
To view and share photos, condolences and stories of Graham, visit www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services.
July 17, 1965 – June 30, 2022
Graham Paul Carty, beloved husband of Leann Hackman-Carty, passed away in Calgary on June 30, 2022 at the age of 56 years.
Graham will be forever loved and remembered by his wife Leann Hackman-Carty and his children Jordan and Sage. He will be dearly missed by his mother Anne Carty of Brockville, ON; father-in-law Jack Hackman of Namao, AB; brothers Sean Carty of Calgary, AB and Neal Carty (Frances McCart) of Etobicoke, ON; nephew Evan; and sister-in-law Deidre Hackman of Edmonton, AB.
Graham was predeceased by his father Tony Carty; and his mother-in-law Shirley Hackman.
In 1963, Anne and Tony Carty left their home in England, along with newborn Sean, to pursue greater opportunities in Canada for their family. In 1964, brother Neal was born. One year later, baby brother Graham joined the family, completing the Carty family. Now, with three boys under the age of 3, life would never be the same again.
Early life for Graham and his siblings was centered in a townhouse complex in Brockville, Ontario where they played outside for many long hours with neighbors and friends. Given they had no family in Canada, many of the original bonds they established growing up here continued to hold for many years to come.
When Graham was in primary school, the Carty’s moved to a new house on Borden Crescent where Anne continues to live today.
A big part of Graham’s high school years was spent building and enjoying the family’s beloved cottage on Bass Lake. When the family wasn’t cutting down trees, hammering nails, or pouring concrete, they could be found swimming, waterskiing, playing with their dog Debit, and jumping into the water off granite cliffs.
In high school, Graham became quite an accomplished saxophone player, performing in both concert and jazz bands, graduating from Thousand Islands Secondary School.
He then went on to study Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, in pursuit of his dream to be an astronaut. While he did get to work on the Canadarm at Spar Aerospace, his life was destined for other things.
Shortly after graduation from university, Graham had an opportunity to go to Germany for a year to work for SAP, which at that time was a relatively new software company with big global plans. During that year, he had the opportunity to travel around Europe, and establish yet another set of lifetime friendships.
Upon return to Canada, Graham started working at Omnilogic. A few years later, when the opportunity to open an office in Calgary arose, Graham was amongst a small group of single guys, who volunteered (or as he liked to say, “voluntold”) to go open up the Western frontier. Here, Graham truly found his niche. He loved his years at Omnilogic. It was exciting, new, and fun. Here he had a chance to work on a
number of SAP implementations across various industries, in a number of locations.
In October 1995, a fateful blind lunch date was arranged by one of Graham’s colleagues at Omnilogic. It was here that he met his soulmate and wife-to-be, Leann. While their personalities were very different, he knew they had many shared values and interests, which mattered more.
On August 23, 1997, Graham and Leann were married in Calgary, and moved into their first home on Elbow Drive. Here they continued to pursue their joint love of travel, scuba diving, motorcycles, visiting with friends and family, working hard, and raising their dog Mambo.
In 2004, their son Jordan arrived, which was a very proud moment for Graham. Two years later, Graham’s Princess Warrior Sage arrived. The family was now complete.
Given Graham’s strong connection to cottage life, he and Leann bought a plot of land, and built their weekend getaway at Gull Lake. There, Graham spent thousands of hours fixing, creating, renovating, and landscaping the property. It soon became a great spot to celebrate Christmas, New Years, birthdays and holidays.
Jordan and Sage were God’s gift to Graham. They profoundly changed his life forever. He loved taking them to their various activities and was very involved in their lives. Whether it be music lessons, band concerts, sports practices and games, summer camps, weekends at the cabin in Gull Lake, or simply hanging out in Calgary. His heart was full of love for them. You would often hear him speaking to friends and family about Jordan and Sage’s latest and greatest adventures and achievements.
In 2019, Graham flew out to Brockville to spend time with his ailing father Tony before he passed away. A great loss of his mentor, idol and friend.
To those who had the honour of meeting and knowing Graham, words like: kind, funny, engaging, supportive, and committed family man came to mind. He valued integrity, trust, and honesty deeply. His clear priorities were his faith, family, and friends.
On June 30, Graham’s life was cut short far too early, when he was in a fatal vehicle accident, leaving his family and friends in shock. To all who knew him, it just doesn’t make sense. However, Graham believed that when God decides to call you home, it’s time to go. While we will miss his smile, humour, and earthly presence, we know he is in a far better place, and are thankful for the years we had with him. His memory will continue to live on forever in our hearts and minds.
Graham Carty. Husband, Father, Son, Son-in-law, Brother, Brother-in-law, Cousin, Mentor, Colleague, Dog Lover, Master Fixer of All Things, and Friend. A life well lived.
Funeral Service will be held at RockPointe Church – Bearspaw Campus (255024 Lochend Road, Calgary) on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 10:30 am with visitation one hour prior to service. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be livestreamed. To view the livestream click here.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Graham may be made to Samaritan’s Purse via phone to 1-800-663-6500 or via mail to 20 Hopewell Way NE, Calgary, AB, T3J 5H5 and please note that donation is being made in memory of Graham Carty.
To view and share photos, condolences and stories of Graham, visit www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services.