05/28/2026
There are many reasons why people Hike for Hospice Peterborough. This is Megan's story. 👟✨
Content Warning: discussions of su***de.
They called him “a mountain of a big brother” in his obituary. Chris Toth was big in stature and had an even bigger personality. His sister Megan fondly remembers his signature playful sense of humour, his love of sports memorabilia, and his enjoyment of a good golf game. “Everything he did, he did 110%,” she says.
But despite his warm and goofy demeanour, Chris quietly struggled with his mental health. “He just couldn’t get it under control,” Megan shares. “We all thought he was going in the right direction for at least a year or so,” she says, “then I don’t know what happened.”
Chris died by su***de on Boxing Day 2023 at just 40. “All walks of life” attended his funeral, Megan recalls, and she still meets people who deeply cared for him. Thanks to a call from Victim Services, she also learned about the free eight-week Survivors of Su***de Loss (SOSL) group offered through Hospice Peterborough. With other support out of reach financially, she was grateful. She had participated in other grief groups before, but felt that discussing su***de might not be understood by other participants grieving illness-related death.
In the 8-week SOSL group, Megan found the right fit: “To be around people going through the same thing but at different stages, it was just so comforting.”
Within the first year of Chris’ death, Megan was eager to find a meaningful way to honour his memory. She appreciated that Hike for Hospice was a reflective walk (not a run that required extra training!) and appreciated the opportunity to support free services like the support groups and retreat she had attended, learning that Hospice Peterborough relies primarily on fundraised dollars to run this programming. Though she was still in the early stages of her grief, Megan remembers her first Hike with a smile. “It was just jovial. It was fun, everyone was so helpful.”
Read Megan's full story at https://www.easypledge.ca/hospice-peterborough/page/resources---hike-heroes-meet-Megan-Toth/
Thank you Megan for courageously sharing your Hike story for us. Registration for Hike for Hospice opens in June!
