Ryan Parker photographed John Sexsmith for the cover of Leap, the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s magazine, in its Spring / Summer 2025 issue, and for A Legacy of Hope, the one-page feature inside.
The story
A Legacy of Hope
John Sexsmith, a former Global TV sports anchor, had 35 years in journalism behind him when he joined the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s legacy giving team in 2023. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, he had surgery and radiation at the Cross Cancer Institute, and a sense of debt to his care team drew him to the Foundation. He looks after over 300 donors, most of them survivors or family members, who give through wills, life insurance and retirement funds. His cancer returned in 2024, and he was in chemotherapy at the Cross when the story ran.
- Magazine
- Leap, the Alberta Cancer Foundation
- Issue
- Spring / Summer 2025
- Section
- Game Changer
- Cover line
- The Power of Giving
- Ran as
- The cover, and a one-page feature
- Words
- Alex Rettie
- Art direction
- Veronica Cowan
- Photographs
- Ryan Parker
As printed
The cover, and the pages.
01Leap, Spring / Summer 2025
The frames
The photographs, before the type.
01The photographs
How it got made
Two sittings with John.
I watched John on the news as a teenager, so having him in my studio was a little surreal. We did two sittings: close, straight-on portraits in the studio, then a few days later his desk at the Cross and the front atrium. We spent a long time together. He talked to me about coaching and about his kids, and he was one of the happiest people I’ve had in front of my camera, with a huge heart.
John died in October 2025. I’m grateful for the time I got with him.
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