Jonathan Richey-Chelin

January 17, 2001 - January 14, 2025 

It is with deep, deep sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful boy, Jonathan, aged 23. 

Jonathan was always trying to find a way to help other people. Often when we were out running errands, he was quick to help a senior citizen cross a busy street, would help them load groceries into their car and would spend hours on the phone with friends, giving them grounded advice as they struggled with their own problems. Jonathan even gave away his own winter jacket - running into the house one day, searching for a down coat, and rushing back out to give it to a man on Parliament Street. 

Jonathan would have been an incredible psychiatrist. Despite all of his challenges, he somehow managed a 93 per cent average in his 3rd year of University. He planned to apply to med school in the Spring. He was exceptionally bright - when he was just 14 months old he knew all the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and had a 150 word vocabulary. 

As the years passed, we thought Jonathan was going to be a lawyer because as that incredible vocabulary grew, so did his ability to eloquently argue his case, whether it was for more time playing Super Mario on the Wii, or why he should be able to take the TTC alone at the age of 13. 

Over the years, he entered the Gifted Programme in Grade 6, attended Queen’s University for Computer Science, but then realized he was more interested in psychology and understanding people, so decided to study at Toronto Metropolitan U and move back home. When he wasn’t on his phone playing online chess with an opponent somewhere in the world, he spent time with his first serious girlfriend, Milena and enjoyed hanging out at home with his younger brother Adam, often joking about the craziness of the world. He had a sarcastic, dark sense of humour and loved reading The Onion. 

Jonathan was also a talented ski and sailing instructor - he was a natural at making a lesson fun and instilling confidence in his little students. One day, on a particularly steep slope, some of his skiers were afraid to venture down. So Jonathan stood facing them and then skied backwards, deliberately falling all the way down the hill, jumped up, and called them to head down. They did. Kids loved him. 

We are so thankful to have shared many summer and winter camping trips together - where after a day of canoeing and portaging, or hiking along snowy trails, Jonathan and his brother would always make a huge bonfire, and then we would huddle in a cozy yurt to watch scary movies and munch on a wide array of junk food. 

We imagine Jonathan now giving counselling to anyone who needs it - he was such a good listener and felt such deep empathy. 

Jonathan is survived by his Mom, Christine Richey, Dad, Howard Chelin and his younger brother Adam Richey-Chelin. 

A private memorial service will be held at a later date.