Founding Member, Breakthrough T1D Canada
Breakthrough T1D International Chancellor
Breakthrough T1D Canada mourns the loss of Krayna Golfman, one of our founding members and a trailblazer in bringing the type 1 diabetes (T1D) movement to Canada.
Krayna passed away peacefully on April 9, 2026.
More than fifty years ago, Krayna helped bring to Canada an organization that had begun in the United States, transforming it into what would become Breakthrough T1D Canada. Working from her Montreal basement alongside other committed families, she played a pivotal role in establishing a national presence dedicated to accelerating research, improving care, and uniting the T1D community across this country.
In the early 1970s, Krayna Golfman and Mitch Garfinkle each faced the life‑changing diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in their sons, David and Jimmy. At the time, little was understood about the disease, and research support was limited. Rather than accept the status quo, they joined with other families affected by T1D to build a Canadian organization grounded in action, urgency, and hope.
A deeply proud mother, Krayna ensured her children grew up confident and fully engaged in life; playing sports, staying active, and learning to manage their diabetes day to day. That same resolve carried forward as her family grew. When her grandson was later diagnosed with T1D, Krayna’s commitment to advancing progress for future generations remained unwavering. She was equally proud of her role as a grandmother and great‑grandmother, cherishing family as both her motivation and her legacy.
Behind the scenes, Krayna worked tirelessly to raise awareness and generate critical funding for T1D research, mobilizing the Montreal community through golf tournaments, galas, bike‑a‑thons, and countless grassroots initiatives that laid the foundation for long‑term impact.
In recognition of her extraordinary leadership and enduring influence, Krayna was named a Breakthrough T1D International Chancellor, an honour reflecting the profound respect she earned across the global T1D community and the lasting significance of the work she helped establish in Canada.
Krayna was deeply proud of what Breakthrough T1D Canada became. Over the past five decades, the organization she helped found has been at the forefront of major advances in T1D research and advocacy, contributing to improved care, access, and technologies that have extended both lifespan and quality of life for people living with T1D in Canada.
Her legacy lives on through the progress she helped accelerate, the community she helped build, and her family, who remain closely and lovingly connected to this mission.
As we remember Krayna, we honour a life defined by courage, leadership, and devotion to family. Breakthrough T1D Canada will continue her legacy by standing with the T1D community, advocating for equitable access to treatments and technologies, and funding the most promising research on the path toward cures.
Our deepest sympathies are extended to her family, and to all those whose lives she touched.
Gifts made in her memory will help carry forward the work she was so proud to help build.
