Danielle Duguay (1968–2026): ‘She was a true warrior’

Danielle Duguay, BA 93, took up kickboxing in her mid-forties and she revelled in the sport. Staying in top physical form became her priority.

After she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, Duguay’s strength and fighting spirit helped her bounce back from her first difficult surgery.

She would undergo more surgeries, and constant chemo, to elongate her life. Yet even warriors get tired.

Duguay, a long-serving donor relations officer at Concordia’s University Advancement, died on June 16 at 57 years old.

“Well friends, after 10 years of cancer treatment, I’ve entered the final phase of my journey. The medication has failed me,” Duguay announced via social media on May 31. “I am now a resident of palliative care at the McGill University Health Centre. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey.”

“Danielle was always a strong woman,” said close friend Lauren McCallum, BA 95. “She was a true friend and a staunch defender of human rights. These are values she carried with her until the very end.”

Before she died, she went out of her way to create the Réjean, Dorothy and Danielle Duguay Endowment for students at McGill University’s Ingram School of Nursing and signed over her Concordia pension and life insurance to Concordia’s Greatest Needs, added McCallum, a retired CBC/Radio-Canada reporter. “Danielle’s legacy of love, determination and generosity will never be forgotten.”

Duguay was determined to support the next generation of nurses through McGill, said Linda Cater, a close friend and retired budget manager in Advancement. “She believed in education and she wanted to support nurses because they were there for her, day in and day out, over the last decade.”

‘She would do anything for a friend’

Following the death of Duguay’s parents, Réjean and Dorothy, Cater invited her to join Christmas reunions with her family over the last five years. “She was a good friend who will be missed,” Cater said. “She had many friends, from London to Philadelphia, who visited in her final days at the hospital. Danielle would do anything for a friend who needed her.”

Sandra Spina, who served as the first director of communications and donor relations in Advancement as part of a 33-year career at Concordia, hired Duguay in 2006.

"Her smile and her insane energy just swept me off my feet,” says Spina. “She had a wonderful way with words. Her notes to Concordia donors were so appreciated — she knew exactly what to say.”

Despite her adversity with illness, Spina added, Duguay consistently shared her appreciation for life with her network: “She lifted us and I am grateful to have had her on my own journey.”

Before serving her alma mater, Duguay worked as a researcher and line-up editor for CTV Montreal News (then Pulse News); as a scriptwriter for My Virtual Model Inc.; as well as a communication advisor and event planner at Avon Canada. 

“Danielle was persistent in getting interviews, early in her journalism career, and she would not let anyone off the hook. She was like a dog with a bone; she was always proud of her work,” said Amalia Fernandez, BA 12, who is now retired as assignment editor at CTV Montreal News.

Fernandez kept in touch with Duguay over three decades: “I admired her strength and determination to live the best she could and embrace each day. I never heard self pity — and she refused to believe it all ends here on Earth.”

“As well as her love of cooking, I will remember Danielle as being insatiably curious, of diving deep into new passions (such as when she took up kickboxing), and of having phenomenal recall,” said Liz Crompton, BA 87, a friend of Duguay since 2010.

Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins, BA 97, director of Advancement Communications at Concordia, met Duguay two decades ago through work. “She was an extremely social and welcoming colleague,” he said, adding she was also self-deprecating. “Two weeks before her death, she reflected: ‘Some people can find that I’m prickly, opinionated and loud.’ To which I replied, ‘You’re also sensitive, thoughtful and have a big heart.’”

“Danielle was a real character,” said Dominique McCaughey, BA 96, MA 02, who worked in Advancement, notably as former associate vice-president. “She was forthright and very generous. Her legacy speaks to that spirit.”

“I greatly admired her ability to formulate a fact-based argument on any number of topics at the drop of a hat,” Crompton said. “She was a tireless and passionate defender of more vulnerable populations. She often said she kept up with the news on difficult topics because she felt a duty to not look away, to bear witness to suffering and to use her voice to call attention to it. She was courageous in this [pursuit].”

Desjardins was impressed with how Duguay leveraged social media to raise awareness about cancer and related mental-health struggles. “Where others might have thrown in the towel, she dug in,” he said. “She maintained a zest for life and she shared her experiences with her network in vivid detail. She was appreciative of health professionals who helped her survive.”

“Danielle was a true warrior,” said Fernandez. “She believed that there was so much more to learn. She has won her everlasting rest.”

Visit Concordia University’s tribute gifts page to consider making a gift in Danielle Duguay’s memory.