A Saskatoon mother devastated by the loss of her soldier son in Afghanistan can also find meaning in his death.

Judith Budd spoke with reporters Thursday about Cpl. Shane Keating, who was killed along with three other Canadian soldiers at Kandahar when they were attacked by a suicide bomber earlier this week.

Judith Budd.
(CBC)

"Nothing, nothing is worth the loss of a son, but everything, everything is worth a man actually being willing to take that risk and die for what be believes in," Budd said as family members stood next to her.

Budd said she fully supports Canada's role in Afghanistan. Her son was aware of the dangers and he knew how afraid she was for him, but he strongly believed in why he was going over there, she said.

"He said you can't just look at the individual because most of us will come home and the ones who don't have made a difference and it's worth it."

Cpl. Shane Keating was one of four Canadian soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan on Monday.
(Canadian Press)

Keating is from Saskatoon and spent some of his earlier years at the nearby town of Dalmeny.

Across the city, Keating's fellow soldiers gathered Wednesday to remember an old friend.

Sgt. Rob Brown of the North Saskatchewan Regiment, who trained with Keating, remembered a soldier with a keen sense of humour and a strong work ethic. 

"He never gave up," Brown said. "No matter what anybody was doing. No matter how sick he was. Or how tired he was. He always kept going."

Keating, 30, had been with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Man. He was the fourth soldier with Saskatchewan roots to die in Afghanistan since the beginning of August. Thirty-six Canadian soldiers have been killed there since 2002.

He will be buried in Saskatoon next week among his fellow soldiers at Woodlawn Cemetery.