‘We’ll never forget her’: Olivia Rourke Foundation aims to keep teen’s bright spirit alive

Olivia Rourke lit up every room she entered. She treated every day as an event, according to her parents, Dan and Jen Rourke.

“I think we always knew that Olivia was special, but we didn’t really know how special until people started sharing these stories with us that they wouldn’t otherwise share. She has touched a lot of people, and she made a lot of people’s lives better and more fun,” said Dan and Jen Rourke.

Olivia was one of four Walkerton-area teens killed, along with their coach, on May 23, 2025, as they were driving home from a school softball tournament in Dorchester. The 17-year-old, known as “Livy Wow” to friends and family, was an avid athlete and a leader at Walkerton District Community School. She organized a basketball tournament to raise money for breast cancer research, inspired by her mother, Jen.

“When her mom, Jen, was going through chemotherapy, Olivia was there every step of the way with her. That’s a teenager helping her mother through one of the hardest things a person can face,” said family friend Derek Mayne. “When you think about 17-year-olds, a lot of them are waiting to become something in their lives. But Olivia was already an incredible person at 17.”

Following her death, friends and family held the first Hoops for Hope basketball tournament in Olivia’s honour, raising $20,000 to date for cancer research. Cancer care is one of three pillars of the Olivia Rourke Foundation, created a few weeks after the crash.

“Doing good through the foundation is a way to keep Olivia’s spirit alive. We think she would have done a lot of good in the world over her lifetime, so this is a way to maybe replace some of what would have otherwise been done,” said her father, Dan.

Along with cancer research, the foundation focuses on funding youth-led initiatives and advancing women in sport. This includes annual awards at Hanover Aerial Gymnastics, where Olivia trained and coached.

“The kids were drawn to her. They all loved having her as a coach. Some of them asked for her,” said executive directors Brenda and Dan Jolly. “She had a gift. It’s something that’s inside of you — not really something you can teach — and that was part of who Olivia was.”

In addition to the annual Hoops for Hope tournament in Walkerton, Olivia’s uncle plans to cycle from Collingwood to Montreal in September as part of a “Ride for Liv” fundraiser for the foundation.

“We just want to continue to share that energy and that love of life. Every day for Olivia was an event. Every moment was an event,” said her mother, Jen.

“Her family and her friends don’t need a foundation to remember her, because we’ll never forget her. We couldn’t forget her if we tried,” said Mayne. “The foundation isn’t really for us — it’s for everyone who didn’t get a chance to meet her, so they can feel even a tiny bit of what a force she was in the world.”