Person

Dennehy, Kerry

fl. 1980s-

Kerry Dennehy is a real estate agent, as well as a former president and current vice president of the Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation. He married Ginny Dennehy and had a son, Kelty, and a daughter, Riley. The family lived in West Vancouver and owned a townhome in Whistler. Kerry was a real estate agent, and also wrote the 'Kerry's Corner' column for the Whistler Question newspaper. He also coached hockey and baseball in Whistler, meanwhile playing on the men's senior hockey team. On March 2nd, 2001, Kerry and Ginny lost their 17-year-old son, Kelty, to suicide after a battle with depression. Devastated by the loss of their son and determined to prevent others from traveling the same journey, The Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation was founded that same year. Kerry was the President of the foundation for 8 years before turning over the reigns to his wife, Ginny. She and Kerry have since become leaders in mental health philanthropy in BC. To date, the foundation has raised and donated more than $7 million to organizations actively researching and fighting depression, including a $1 million donation to establish a youth-focused mental health facility at BC Children’s Hospital, $500,000 to establish a research chair in depression at the UBC Vancouver General Hospital, and $500,000 to establish a mental health resource centre with the Hope Psychiatry and Education Centre at Lion’s Gate Hospital. Also in 2009, Kerry and Ginny lost their daughter Riley of a heart attack from strong medication prescribed to manage the pain for a separated shoulder while she was travelling in Thailand. In 2013, Ginny and Kerry Dennehy cycled across Canada, delivering 38 presentations and raising more than $1.2 million to raise depression awareness. The couple have received the Paul Harris Fellow Award through Whistler Rotary Club and the Order of BC in 2015.

West Vancouver
Whistler

Real estate agent
Philanthropy
Journalist

The Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation

Dennehy, Riley Rae (July 3, 1986 - October 8, 2009)

Dennehy, Kelty Patrick (1984 - March 2, 2001)

Dennehy, Ginny (fl. 1970s-)

CA-BC-DK005

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued January 2022.

1) Archival material
2) https://www.thekeltyfoundation.org/about/board/
3) https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler-news/rotary-honours-ginny-and-kerry-dennehy-2502732
4) https://whistlerfoundation.com/dennehy-legacy-story/
5) https://orderofbc.gov.bc.ca/2015-recipient-kerry-and-ginny-dennehy-whistler/