Numerous Hallmark Channel stars have rallied around actor Noel Johansen, whose wife died on April 26, 2025, when an SUV plowed into the crowd at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival, per the Associated Press, killing 11 and injuring dozens at the annual Filipino cultural celebration.
Artist Jen Darbellay, 50, was among those killed, while Johansen and their seven-year-old daughter Darby were injured, according to the Vancouver Sun. Family friend Michael Daingerfield Hall told the paper that the family was preparing to walk a block-and-a-half home when chaos broke out. He has created a GoFundMe campaign for the family, which many Hallmark stars have shared with fans.
Two days after the tragedy, on April 28, Johansen was on crutches while attending an emotional candlelight vigil for victims, per the Global News, and expressed how heartbroken his family is over his wife’s death.
Johansen’s Hallmark credits, per IMDb, include supporting roles in Nikki DeLoach’s “Reunited at Christmas,” the “Unleashing Mr. Darcy” and “Marrying Mr. Darcy” movies with Cindy Busby and Ryan Paevey, Catherine Bell’s “Home for Christmas Day,” “All of My Heart: Inn Love” with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott, and episodes of “When Calls The Heart” and “Chesapeake Shores.”
Hallmark Channel Alum Neal Johansen Says He’s Felt His Wife’s Presence With Every Hug He’s Received
In footage captured at the candlelight vigil by Global News, Johansen responded to the crowd’s kind words about the victims, including his wife, who was known in the community as a visual artist, costume designer, and doting mom to Darby and their 15-year-old son, Ford.
Propped up on his crutches, Johansen choked back tears as he told the crowd, “What you see here, it’s just an injury that means nothing to me because what’s inside my heart is broken. Because my wife passed away behind me at the incident, and everything that you said, she would have said.”
Johansen added, “Everytime, I think, you hug someone, you should feel someone and I felt (with) everyone who hugged me since then, I felt her.”
A 30-year-old man whom Vancouver police said has a “significant history of interactions with authorities involving mental health,” has been charged with the murders of those who died, according to Reuters.
Hallmark Channel Stars Urge Fans to Support Noel Johansen’s Family
On April 29, multiple Hallmark stars shared a GoFundMe campaign set up by Daingerfield Hall for Johansen and his kids. Originally created with a fundraising goal of $20,000, the community has rallied, raising close to $150,000 for the beloved family by April 30.
WCTH actress Loretta Walsh posted a photo of the couple on Instagram and shared that Darbellay was personal friend, writing, “Jen was a bright light – beautiful inside and out. An artist, a creative, an empath, she was always so sweet with her greeting of ‘Hey Beauty’ and always so positive and kind.”
“She was a deeply loving wife to Noel and a dedicated and wonderful mother to 2 beautiful children,” Walsh continued. “She is so deeply missed. Noel and his 2 kids (aged 7 and 15) are going to need our support. Noel has his own physical injuries from the incident, plus he will need time away from work to be with his children and to heal physically and emotionally. Please donate and support this lovely man and his family.”
Andrea Brooks shared the GoFundMe in her Stories and commented on Walsh’s post, “I cannot even find the words. đź’””
Others who have shared the fund for Johansen include “The Chicken Sisters” actress Rukiya Bernard, “Curious Caterer” actress Jaycie Dotin, and WCTH star Pascale Hutton.
In an update on the GoFundMe page, Daingerfield Hall said a vigil will be held on April 30 specifically to honor Darbellay. The gathering will take place at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time at Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary School where, he wrote, “we will hold space to honour Jen and celebrate her life and her magical, generous, and creative spirit.”
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Stars Rally Around Hallmark Channel Actor Whose ‘Heart is Broken’ After Losing Wife in Vancouver Tragedy