Hours after her longtime partner died in hospital, Celena Danis began thinking of the little things she’ll miss about him.

"I’m trying to keep his pillows close to me so I can always have scent,” she said. “I know it’s going to be gone someday. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

Her partner, 29-year-old Chad Wiklun, died last week after being caught between two pieces of equipment while on the job at Agrium’s Vanscoy potash mine.

Danis calls his death “a terrible accident” and says she doesn't think anything could have been done to prevent it.

His mother, Angel Kostyk, says Wiklun’s death wasn’t due to a lack of training employees received from Agrium.

“Agrium did their best to keep Chad safe and they work hard to keep their employees safe,” Kostyk told reporters at a news conference Monday. “It’s the employees themselves that shouldn’t take the short cuts. They have to learn to listen to what they’ve been taught.”

Kostyk and Danis spoke publically for the first time Monday — one day before Wiklun’s funeral. Danis told reporters her partner was selfless, a jack of all trades and a family man. He had “the biggest heart” and fought to keep it beating until the end, she said.

Wiklun was injured Monday at the mine and died Wednesday at Royal University Hospital.

“There was a point it almost seemed like he was reaching out to comfort everybody that was there,” Danis said.

Wiklun leaves behind two daughters who are six and eight years old. Danis said he would do anything for them.

“They don’t understand why daddy isn’t coming home at night,” she said.

During Monday’s news conference, Danis thanked a number of people including friends and family for their support, the United Steelworkers Union, Agrium, emergency responders and staff at Royal University Hospital. She said she wants to remind the public not to take life for granted and to always say, “I love you.”

"Because on the night that Chad left — his last night shift — he was going to work with this brother and I was sitting outside on the deck. He came and he kissed me and I don’t remember if we said we loved each other.”

Agrium is paying for Wiklun’s funeral, which is set to take place Tuesday morning. His family and the United Steelworkers Union are continuing to encourage the public to donate blood since Wiklun received a number of blood transfusions while in hospital.