Kyle Ronald Porter passed away suddenly in Ukraine on April 26, 2023 at the age of 27. He was killed in action in the vicinity of Bakhmut as a member of the Legionnaires Special Service Group, serving as a soldier and a medic. He is lovingly remembered by his parents George and Nichole (Nicky) Porter and his brother Matthew Porter, as well as his grandparents Morley and Kathy Spelman, aunts and uncles Cindy Elander, Tara and Matt Petrie, Janilee Porter, Joanne Porter and Roy Topley and his cousins Nathan Elander (Jonathan), Kendall Elander (Jenn), Gabriel Elander (Emily), Trevor Hirsche (Beatrix), Kailee Hirsche (Thomas), Krista Hirsche and Ethan Petrie. He will also be sadly missed by extended family members and his many, many friends. He was predeceased by his grandparents, “Grandee” and Ron Porter.
Kyle was born June 14, 1995, in Calgary where he grew up attending the neighborhood elementary school and enjoying the outdoors hiking, biking, and snowboarding and attending scouts and cadets. In grade 7 he transferred to an alternative school called Juno Beach Academy of Canadian Studies. It was here that his love for the military and military history grew. At age 17, while still in high school, he joined the 15th Field Ambulance army reserves. At 21 he obtained his EMT certificate and became a qualified medical technician in the reserves. At 22 he joined the regular army and was posted to the 12th Canadian Forces Health Services detachment in Wainwright, Alberta. In May of 2021, he left the army and went to South Africa where he spent two rotations on anti-poaching missions. In March of 2022, when the war started in Ukraine, because of his training background and his desire to help others, he went to Ukraine twice as a Search and Rescue technician with a humanitarian non-profit organization, recovering wounded and deceased civilians in Kyiv and Kharkiv. In December, he went on his third and last tour with the Ukrainian International Legion where he served as a soldier and a medic on the front lines. At the time of his death, he was a member of “Code 9.2”, a sub unit within the Legionnaires Special Service Group.
In his short 27 years, he saw, accomplished, and overcame many things. He adventured around the world, scuba diving the Scapa Flow wrecks in Scotland, skydiving in Arnhem, Netherlands to commemorate the WW II allied military operation called Operation Market Garden, hiking the route of his Jacobite ancestors in the Scottish Highlands, and ranging on the African veldt on anti-poaching operations protecting God’s beautiful creatures. He was passionate about military history, a voracious reader, and very creative. He played the guitar and sang folk songs and war time ballads, he also knitted and sewed creating custom webbing and military clothing. A highlight for him was being given the moniker "Ndlovu", the Shona word for "elephant", by a legendary member of the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. He proudly displayed this with a massive tattoo on his left shoulder bearing a depiction of an elephant, superimposed onto the African continent, a Matabele cowhide shield, and a Shona assegai spear. So it just made sense that his call sign (nickname) with the Legionnaires was “Sloan” which means elephant in Ukrainian. Kyle saved many lives as a medic, no matter what uniform they wore and he gave his life defending democracy and freedom in a country not his own. John 15:12-13 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Rest in peace our dearest Kyle. A celebration of life will be held at Mewata Armoury on Friday, June 16th at 3pm, with a light lunch to follow.
View the service via Zoom by copying the link: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3906811227?pwd=SWhqZFdNcTF2L2RRRlozWTlkUCtvQT09__;!!M2D_dUfSiN4E!J860pAzS7964yxuir1RKAJNpepciwkJDdZU97nfAUaaOW1K0t0b0g-ezrBmdjgzM24BUKHTde6w3wlbY4aCtCA8sJYO_YqxG$
Meeting ID: 390 681 1227 and Passcode: 5425872
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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