WATCH | Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau honored by family, friends and hockey teammates at funeral

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a e e e e for for for for [Music] [Music] in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit amen the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all your spirit in the waters of baptism John and Matthew died with Christ and Rose with him to New Life they share with him eternal glory e [Music] you shall cross the baren desert but you shall not die of thirst you shall Wonder far in safy though you do not know the way you shall speak your words in forign lands and all will understand you shall see the face of God and live be not [Laughter] afraid I go before you always come follow me and I will give you rest [Music] if you pass through ring Waters in The Sea you shall not drown if you walk amidst The Burning Flame you shall not [Music] be the burning flames you shall not be and if you stand before the power of hell and death is at your side know that I am with you it all be not [Music] afraid I go before you [Music] always come follow me and I will give you [Music] rest blessed for the kingom shall be there bless are you that we've been born for one day you shall make it tongue insults and hates you all because of me blessed blessed are you God afraid I go before you [Music] always come follow me and I will give you prise [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and let us pray oh God Almighty father our faith professes that your son Jesus died and rose again mercifully grant that through this mystery your servants John and Matthew who have fallen on asleep in Christ May Rejoice to rise again through him who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the god forever and ever amen amen please be seated I'd like to invite Charlie vasaturo forward for our first reading a reading from the book of wisdom The Souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them they seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead and their passing away was thought and affliction and they going forth from us utter destruction but they are in peace for if in the eyes of men indeed they be punished yet is their hope full of immortality chastise the little they shall be greatly blessed because God tried them and found them worthy of himself as gold in the furnace he proved them and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself for those who trust in him shall understand truth and the faithful shall abide with him in love because grace and mercy are with his holy ones and his care is with his elect the word of the Lord thanks be to God [Music] [Music] the Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want the Lord is my shepher there is nothing I shall want the Lord is my sheer there is nothing I shall want the Lord is my sheer there is nothing I shall want he let me rest an open field so green yes stream he gives me strength and guides me in his way he renews his promises each day the Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I tell [Music] want the Lord is my shepher there is nothing I shall [Music] want my shepher and my and in him my fear are first [Music] be though I walk through the valley I will not be afraid you will protect me I'll be sa the Lord Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want the Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want he goes before me my enemies [Music] fall he is my shepherd and my [Music] she is anointing is upon me I will [Music] overcome his Blessing are not undone the Lord is my shepher there is nothing I shall [Music] want the Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want you set a table before me my cup oh [Music] flow goodness and Love Will Follow Me [Music] every everywhere I [Music] go the Lord is my shepher there is nothing I can want the Lord is my shepher there [Music] [Music] is K Caitlyn goodro will do the second reading a reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians brothers and sisters our citizenship is in heaven and from it we also await a savior the Lord Jesus Christ he will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to him the word of the Lord thanks be to God [Music] Hallelujah [Music] hallelujah hallelu hallelujah [Music] hallelujah hallelujah Speak Lord your servant is [Music] listening you have the words of everlasting life hallelujah hallelujah [Music] hu the Lord be with you and with your spirit a reading from The Gospel according to John glory to you oh Lord Jesus said to his disciples do not let your hearts be troubled you have faith in God have faith also in Me In My Father's House there are many Dwelling Places if there weren't would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be where I am going you know the way then Thomas said to him Master we do not know the way where you're going how can we know the way and Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me the gospel of the Lord praise to you Lord Jesus Christ if I might just say a few words on this on this occasion where we gather with families to say goodbye to two people that we love very much the first thing I want to say to all of you is that I know that you've traveled many different places to come here yeah and I know not everyone here is Catholic I just I just know others might be of other faiths here I just want you to know that you honor us today by your very presence because your very presence along with all the others in the church are a great comfort to gee and to Jane and to Meredith and to Madeline to Caitlyn and to Kristen if you could turn around I wouldn't ask you to do but if you could turn around there is an unspoken homy or message being given today that is more eloquent than anything I can say to any of you by the overwhelming presence an overwhelming number of people here today they're sending a message to you loud and clear that John and Matthew's lives mattered that they were noticed on this Earth they were loved on this Earth and they were valued on this Earth and this robust crowd wants you to know that they're here to tell you all of you that they love you too and they have your back and they're here to support you in your loss we heard today readings the wisdom reading says you're in the palm of God's hand with God's mercy and Grace he gives to the elect and then we heard from Philippians and Philippians says our true citizenship Matthews and John's is heaven all of us simply have a Visa on this Earth we don't have a passport we're here for a short time sometimes too short a Time but the gospel today Jesus is trying I prayed over the gospel over and over since Wednesday and I keep hearing over and over for words I Think Jesus is wanting to tell all of us the same four words I am the way I think there's a promise in those words and the promise is this if you follow me I on the way you will be ultimately in the last moment okay you know all of us here today are having a hard time believing that we should not as the gospel said be burdened by our loss today because God has them in God's hands though that is true there's not a person in this church today all of you who don't feel a burden a pain a loss we've been robbed of something here today two really wonderful young men who had dreams yet to chase down who had Futures yet to live who had goals in accomplishments yet to be achieved how can we not feel bad today but we're also asked not only to lean on the crowd here today for support we're ask to lean on Jesus Christ for support and if Jesus says I am the way to eternal life we should believe that today we should hold on to that today for Jesus in his lifetime has kind of marked the way it's like this aisle those Ben is Mark the aisle well Jesus has marked the way well it's like an airplane coming down at night to a Runway that has the lights on each side of the runway it's clear where the runway is Jesus wants all of us today to know this those who walk the the way of Jesus will come to the stairway of Heaven they will and what is the way of the Lord is simply follow Jesus's example and what did Jesus do over and over and over again in different ways he loved and anyone who knows these two young men know that they have been loved and that they loved and they have not only been loved by Mom and Dad and sisters but by wives who deeply Lov them and by people in New Jersey in Boston in Pennsylvania in Calgary and in Columbus and I found out about Johnny and Matthew's death by someone who called me from Taiwan there are people all over the world who know that these two young men are special and what makes me confident today in my my words is that these people these two young men went to the right schools you know I'm not talking about Gloucester Catholic High School even though that was an important place for them in their early life and I'm not even talking about my school Boston College which ter Terri terribly misses these young men because when they were on our campus they lit up our campus not only on the ice but on the campus in the classroom they were wonderful but the truth of it is they went to the right school it it's not Gloucester Catholic High School and it's not BC they went to the school of the good school that's true they had the best teachers they had the best professors G and Jane cuz they taught their kids how to love they taught them how to love not only John and Matthew but Katie and Christan as well in the baptism ceremony says the parents are the first and best teachers of their their kids in the way of faith and also life and you have taught them to love and when you taught them the love you taught them how to recognize the way that Jesus is talking about well done but that's not the only school they went to graduate school too they met uh Meredith and meline and the two of you their wives you figured out a way to make them even better at loving you drew stuff out of Matthew and you drew stuff out of John that they didn't even know they had in them you made them better lovers but anyone in this church who knew them and was a good friends I'm thinking of many of you that I know were great friends of them you helped them be better too the people in Calgary and Columbus people in New Jersey and Boston everybody had a hand to inspire these young men to be more loving in their life and they were I'll tell you a little story now my story is this Johnny was a freshman at Boston College Matthew was playing hockey I think out in Midwest and he came to visit his brother one weekend and on the visit they had a great time they went to the games and all that good stuff but on the day Matthew was going to be driven by one of the coaches into the airport to go back to the Midwest uh I noticed the car out in front of the dining room and I noticed Matthew who I just met that weekend was sitting in the front seat and his brother John had come out of one of the buildings to talk to him so I thought it'd be a good time for me to go and say goodbye to Matthew who I had met and as I approached the window I kind of thought they were talking they weren't talking they were talking but they weren't talking like I thought this is what they were doing I love you I love you they were doing this tennis match I love you no I love you I love you no I love you they must have said it 19 times and I'm sitting there go oh what's going on here I love you and I love you I don't want to go okay stay with me no I have to go okay go it that was the conversation but I saw in those two brothers a lot love that I don't have with my own brothers and I love my brothers but they had an intensity to their love that was unbelievable and I'm sure it's in Caitlyn and Kristen too because they had the best teachers in the world you're to be complimented and then they even became better at love when they met Meredith and meline and they found new ways to express their love and their expression has resulted in Noah and John and trip gifts to this earth that will be forever the legacy of your two wonderful husbands and your love between them and that leaves all of us what are we going to do I know we showed up today and you're to be complimented for that it's a tremendous source of comfort for the family but what are we going to do now how are we going to leave this church and somehow add on to the legacy of these two young men who have done their thing how are we going to honor them in our own lives I for one am going to be a better brother to my sister and my four brothers I'm going to work harder I saw what real brothers love how real brothers love looked like my I'm not quite there yet so I'm going to try to honor them by being a better friend and a better brother how about you what are you going to do maybe we can learn from this that we're not guaranteed long lives so maybe we should live our lives with more urgency we saw what real love looked like maybe in our own families we should find a way to be more loving life is very fragile these are two healthy young men who would have expected them to go down like they did but they did maybe we should understand how fragile life is and make better judgments in our own life and maybe we should try to be more protective of those people in our life that sometimes need protection and the last thing I would like to say is that for all you young people out there and for those who are not so young for those who are having families having kids of your own or about to have children maybe we can start the gdr schools across this country maybe you should try hard in your own life to create a very loving home so that when your kid grows up they're kind of like Maddie and John good kids who know how to love but they don't learn how to love just by going going to church that helps they need inspiration and guidance and so for all you young people all you teachers all you grandparents let's be better at loving our own kids so that they might grow up to be the kind of people we celebrate here today and lastly if we do that well all those kinds of things we will be standing on the way we will find our own paths to the kingdom of God to the stairway of heaven and don't be surprised as we walk up that stairwell that among the first people to welcome us to heaven will be John and Matthew and wouldn't that be nice and wouldn't our world be better because we were inspired today by their lives anyways that's the best I have so I'm going to stop right there and ask you to please stand for our intercessions thank you thank you my my friends my brothers and sisters Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of the father where he intercedes for his church confident that God hears the voices of those who trust in Jesus We join our prayers to his as we say let us pray for John and Matthew with God's mercy may they together share in the fullness of Jesus's resurrection and be granted Eternal peace we pray to the Lord Lord here our pray pray for their wives Meredith and meline and for their children Noah Johnny and trp may they find strength and consolation in their faith and in the love and support of their families and many good friends we pay pray to the Lord Lord here our pray for their parents Jane and gee and for their sisters Kristen and Katie may they take comfort in knowing that the gift of love they gave to John and Matthew every day of their lives has prepared them perfectly for their God who is love we pray to the Lord Lord here our pray for John and Matthew's many friends teammates former teammates and coaches may God bless them all wherever they may be we pray to the Lord Lord here our pray for all the dead especially John and Matthew's grandparents Marie Lloyd and John Gad may they be among the first to welcome their grandsons into the kingdom of God we pray to the Lord Lord here Ouray for everyone who is praying for John and Matthew throughout the world may they be granted long lives The Good Sense To Love their friends and family without hesitation and every day we pray to the Lord Lord our pray and in gratitude for the hospitality of the priests and parishioners of St Mary Magdalene Church may this Community of Faith grow and flourish in the days and years ahead we pray to the Lord Lord here our pray oh gracious God we commend all of our prayers to you today in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord amen amen [Music] [Music] all who thirst come to the water all who hunger without why spend your w fails Tois to the table of table of Life all thirst come to the water all who hunger [Music] yours to the table of table of to me all need rest and be sisi all are we my is for I not you all who thirst come to the all who [Music] hes to the table table of [Music] [Music] break now out is my blood for World [Music] in I lay down my life so you might come and follow me all who thirst come to the all who hunger [Music] Wes come to the table of life table of Life dance [Music] joy runs free the will break song for mighty king [Music] the Tre will clap for God God is great in all thirst come to the all who hunger without why spend your wages on whats come to the table of table of [Music] [Music] [Music] pray my brethren my brothers and sisters that our sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty father may the Lord accept the sacrifice Glory his name hisy church and let us pray as we humbly present to you these sacrificial offerings oh lord for the Salvation of your servants John and Matthew we beseech your mercy that they who did not doubt your son to be a loving savior may find in him a merciful judge who lives and reigns forever and ever amen the Lord be with you and with your spirit lift up your hearts lift them up to the Lord let us give thanks to the Lord Our God it is it is truly right and just our duty and salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks Lord Holy Father Almighty and eternal God through Jesus Christ Our Lord in him the hope of blessed Resurrection has dawned that those saddened by the certainty of dying might be consoled by the promise of immortality to come indeed for your faithful Lord life is changed not ended and when the this Earthly dwell turns to dust an eternal dwelling place is made ready for them in heaven and so with the Angels and Archangels the Thrones and dominions and with all the hosts and powers of Heaven We Sing The Hymn of your glory as Without End we Acclaim holy holy holy Lord God of host Heaven and Earth Earth are full of your glory hosana in the highest blessed is he who comes in the name of the [Music] lordana hosana in the highest hosana hosana in the highest you are indeed holy Lord the Fountain of all Holiness make holy therefore these gifts we pray by sending down your spirit upon them like the dwall so that they become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion he took bread and giving thanks broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when supper was ended he took the chalice and once more giving thanks he gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the Chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal Covenant which will be poured out for you and for the many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me let us proclaim the mystery of faith we Proclaim your death oh Lord and your presence until you come again until you come again therefore as we celebrate the memorial of his death and Resurrection we offer you Lord the bread of life the Chalice of Salvation giving thanks that you've held us worthy to be in your presence and Ministry to you humbly we pray that partaking of the body and blood of Christ Christ we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit remember Lord your church spread throughout the world bring her to the fullness of Charity together with Francis our Pope our Bishops and clergy everywhere you have called from this world to yourself gr that they willed in a dep like this may also be one with him in his resurrection remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy welcome them into the light of your face have mercy on us all we pray that with the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God with blessed Joseph her spouse with the Blessed Apostles and all the saints who have ages we may Merit to be coair to eternal life and may praise and glorify you through your son Jesus Christ for through him and with him and in him oh God Almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours forever and ever amen amen [Music] amen amen am [Music] amen my friends at the savior's command and performed by Divine teaching we dare to say Our Father Who Art in Heaven be th name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil Deliver Us Lord we pray from every kind of evil and graciously Grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may always be free from safe from all kinds of distress as we wait in Hope for the coming of Our Savior Jesus Christ Glory yours Lord Jesus Christ who said to your Apostles peace I leave you my peace I give you look not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously Grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and Reign forever and ever my friends May the peace of God be with all of you your [Music] [Music] done [Music] L of God you take away the of the world have mercy on US Lamb of God you take away the S of the world have mercy on us of God you take away the of the world my friends Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb Lord I'm not worthy that you should enter unto my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed May the body and blood of Christ keep keep us safe for eternal life amen we welcome to Holy Communion today those Catholics that share our faith in the substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist ask you please to remain at your place until the priest or Deacon gets to your uh communion uh station and then they will invite you forward [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] PR [Music] [Applause] [Music] I am the bread of life you who come to me shall not hunger and who believe in me shall not thirst no one can come to me unless the father beckons and I will raise you up up and I will raise you up and I will raise you up on the last day [Music] the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world and if you eat of this bread you shall live forever you shall live forever ever and I will raise you up and I will raise you up and I will raise you up on the [Music] last day [Music] unless you we of the Flesh of the son of man and dring of his blood and drink of his BL you shall not have life within in you and I will raise you up and I will raise you up and I will raise you up on the last day [Music] I am the [Music] resurrection I am the life if you believe even though you die you shall live for forever and I will raise you up and I will raise you up and I will raise you up on the [Music] last day [Music] yes Lord we believe that you are the Christ the son of God who has come into the world and I will praise you up and I will raise you up and I will raise you up on the [Music] last day and let us pray Lord God God whose son left us in the sacrament of his body food for the journey mercifully grant that strengthened by it our brothers John and Matthew may come to the Eternal table of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever amen please be seated and I'd like to invite together I'd like to invite uh Meredith goodro and mine goodro forward for the remembrances of their husband I first want to start off by thanking everyone for the outpouring of support love prayers and all the memories shared it has has truly not gone unnoticed it brings tears to my eyes to see how much everyone loved and cherished my husband and brother-in-law as much as their families do this last week has felt like I've been trapped in a nightmare I can't wake up from I feel numb angry sad blessed all at once some days the thought of this new reality is debilitating but mostly I just miss Matt most people know Maddie as a hockey play player a hockey coach a friend a mentor and while he was all of those things he was so much more I met Maddie in Omaha Nebraska while we were both playing in high school while he was playing in high school he was playing for the Lancers my best friend actually introduced us to each other and he couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds and had a Joe Dirt haircut it was his personality that made me in L attached to him his free spirit his laugh his wittiness his love for country music friends and family was irresistible we instantly became best friends and I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with him I remember one day he stopped into my work one night after his practice and he was telling me how him and a few guys from his team went tanning because they were doing a free week of tanning and he showed me where his tan lines were he thought you kept your socks short and sht on wild tanning I never did tell him he was wrong we did long distance for four years while he was attending Boston College Maddie was so excited to play alongside his brother something he never took for granted the bond that Matt and John shared is something that unless you knew them personally even the most perfect words pictures or videos cannot adequately describe it they were attached at the hip they slept in the same room up until college and neither of them ever wanted that to change I remember in our early years of dating our friend group would go to country concerts when we got back to the house we were staying at Maddie and I would go to bed and we would always wake up wake up with John right in the middle somehow John took care of mdty and Maddie would take care of John to know both of them was to truly love them it was impossible not to fall in love with them Meredith said at best you do not hear one name without the other they were so extremely proud of each other and it brings me comfort knowing they are still together forever as they always were Matthew loved his sisters Katie and Kristen and his parents Jane and gee Maddie was a family man through and through you honestly can't pick more of a close-knit family than the good Dr and I'm so honored to be a part of it Maddie was an adored Uncle his nieces cam Logan Noah and nephew Johnny were loved by him like they were his own I can't even tell you how many times he got peed on pooped on thrown up on but you never once heard him complain the kids were his life and I promise I will be there for them for the rest of their life and make sure they know their Uncle Maddie who their Uncle Maddie is and how much he loved them I was blessed to see more of a personal and private side of Matthew no one else got to see him as a husband Matthew is and will always be the best part of me he loved me so deeply and would always show it and I pray to God he knew how much I loved him I truly can't believe how lucky I was to be loved by him he was hardworking patient kind gentle attentive funny he was my safe place my quiet my home my best friend I will miss our late night Taco Bell runs our slow mornings on the weekends our snuggles in bed while we were watching whatever it was we were watching at the time even picking up your messes doing your laundry watching you mow all of the little things the 14 years we spent together will never be enough but I will cherish those and carry them close to me especially on the extremely hard days for the rest of my life you changed me in my life for the better the moment you entered it I was also blessed to see the dad's side of Matthew for those of you who don't know we have a golden doodle named Stella who is our first baby Maddie and Stella were attached to each other Stella would always want her dad they enjoyed the outdoors together playing ball fall in Lane in the grass Maddie would always get upset when people told Stella she was adopted he would always whisper in her ear don't worry honey no you weren't you came from Mommy and Daddy for anyone that knows Maddie knows he was born to be a dad the moment we found out about our son trip it consumed his every day he was downloading apps ordering books finding the best diaper brand making sure I had the best vitamins and asking for tips from John I will never forget the tears he had in his eyes when we first heard Trip's heartbeat he never missed an appointment I am so grateful I forced him to start the nursery Matthew worked so hard on that room and I can feel him in there every time I go in it Matthew was so excited to welcome trip into this world and although the plan now looks a little different I know Matt will surround His Son for the rest of his life I'm so thankful God gave us a child a little Maddie to run around for life to carry on his legacy trip will know how much his father loved him and I promis to do all the things with him we talked about I can't wait to see Johnny and trip grow up together and have the same Bond as their dads had Meredith we are in lots of trouble to Meredith I am so sorry that we will forever share this Bond the boys could not have picked stronger women as wives mothers of their children there is one person in this world that knows the exact feeling I am feeling and that is you and for that I am sorry the loss of a husband of Father our comfort I promise that I will always be there for you and the kids and we will honor the lives of our husbands together hand inand alongside their family and friends I urge everyone to never drink and drive call a ride please do not put another family through this torture the loss of Maddie and John will leave a hole in the family with his close friends the community for eternity however their legacy will live on through the lives of everyone they touched their kids their wives their parents parents their siblings God really did DRFT the best two boys line mates forever I love you so much Matthew Ryan John I love you so much I'm sorry this is very long but every time I read this over I think of more and more things I want to say I don't know where to begin or how to stop when I'm describing my love for John I want to thank you everyone for being here and for your support for my family seeing everyone these past couple of days has been so touching from Sweden to Calgary to Columbus to Boston the Midwest Florida Vermont Canada an entire family and group of friends flew here from the night of their wedding and it really means so much so on behalf of my entire family thank you for your support there aren't even words that can touch on how to describe my love for John from his messy curly hair to the C be around his dark brown eyes his dimples his smile the sound of his voice his scruffy beard and the softest skin his strong skinny legs and his crazy looking hockey feet his sense of humor his humbleness his shyness his manners and his laugh I love you John so much he didn't have a bad bone in his body he never spoke badly about anyone the most humble person I've ever met zero ego quiet sweet and shy he was everything and more that I only dreamed about finding in a husband and then he made all my dreams come true but the thing with me from the day I met him is that every day I strive to be more like him he did everything he was supposed to and he did everything right he made me a better person and that I'll be forever grateful for but I'm not the perfect one he is and I'll just quickly say opposites attract and I promised John if I ever had the opportunity I would go for it even though of course he didn't want me to and this will be one of the few times during this eulogy that I'm probably going to make him cringe but to Michael bé or Michael bubble as John pronounced it as he read your name on Twitter my husband had no idea who you were that day he came across your mockery of him on Twitter sorry re but I had to I got your back as I said before despite losing my husband way too soon I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be his wife and here's why I met John in June of 2018 all his friends around him and his entire family so quiet so kind so generous so cute the second I saw him I can't explain it but I knew I was going to marry the boy next door with the Mohawk we didn't even really talk that night but I just knew and each day after that kept getting better and better we were next next door neighbors in Avalon where our Story begins I would travel back and forth from my night shifts to spend the day with him and he would stay on the shore overnight by himself waiting for me to get back down if you know John at all you know he doesn't like sleeping anywhere alone so as I got to know this about him I I knew he really liked me and that this was special he was my person and when you know you know it wasn't any more complicated than that he was and still is my soulmate and I just knew he would be from the second I saw his adorable smile and his eyes that I was so obsessed with Labor Day weekend came and summer ended and before I knew it it was September and I was digging around for my passport to go see him soon enough I was moving all my shifts around to line up with his game schedule now it's Christmas time and I convinced him to come home to surprise his family family even though it was only for 3 Days of course it was so that I could see him too December 23rd he told me to come over to his parents house because they were having a bonfire I showed up and he didn't even tell his family I was coming but this night sealed the deal for me I had never been to carne's point before I had never heard this small town just 40 minutes away from where I grew up he sends me his location because his address didn't even poate correctly on the map his family welcomed me with open arms even though they barely knew me I spent the night in his childhood twin-sized bed a few feet away from Maddie who was in his twin-sized bed too the wallpaper border was footballs and soccer balls an Al lacrosse stick and of course a hockey puck this is his home and where he spends his Summers a little different from his St in Calgary I'm thinking to myself he's far into his NHL career now and he could have it all but this is all he wants to be in his childhood bedroom two twin beds side by side with his brother he's different and he's special and this whole family is I love everything about him and this entire situation I'm 26 now and I'm still living at home too and I have to admit I was only 25 when I stopped sleeping in my twin-sized bed next to my older sister I felt like I found my match I rang in 2019 with him in Calgary and Katie by our side and I'm proud to say I've spent every near Zep with her since in February I traveled with his family to his All-Star Weekend side note he won the Skillets competition for the second year in a row and I'm making him cringe again but have to but after the weekend we went to Napa Valley on our first trip together our tour guide said he was married with five kids and we had a lot of wine at this point but I looked over at John even though it was only a few months into our relationship and I said that's going to be us one day he didn't say anything back but he held my hand tight and just smiled at me the season finished and summer of 2019 passed by my trips to Calgary got longer and longer he asked me to come for Christmas and to stay for the rest of the season however he asked me this on December 20th so needless to say it didn't quite happen another New Year's Eve in Calgary but not soon after Co hit and John comes home we were now Inseparable l nights playing car games and sharing sweatshirts and sweatpants with how you could find us I would go with him to the gym watch him do his workouts I'd sit with him at his dentist appointments in the exam room and I sat in the chair next to him while he got his haircut he'd bring his Xbox into the room I was sleeping in for my night shifts to be closer to me it was so sweet that I didn't have the heart to tell him he was highly distracting me from getting any sleep at all but he said he just wanted to be close to me he came with me to run all my errands and sometimes drove me to work people must have thought we were so weird but we didn't think anything of it his schedule was mine and mine was his jumping ahead but he even stood next to me in all of my weekly bump photos it was so funny and cute at the time these pictures are even more special now to me we were best friends he is my soulmate the co summer of 2020 rolls around and it's been two years since the day we met John's off to Edmonton to finish the hockey season in the bubble a month goes by and he comes back home he lands at the airport and comes straight to the hospital where I was working to come see me even though it was only for 20 minutes during my break in the middle of the night and then later that week he proposed to me we get married the next summer soon after our expecting our first baby it's everything we've ever wanted it was this Summer that John made the difficult decision to say bye to Calgary he did it to be closer to his family plain and simple he wanted his parents and his siblings to be able to see more games and spend more time with us and our baby on the way immediately everything was for our baby that was not even born yet and I know it's getting repetitive but he truly was a family first guy and this is something about him I admired to the City of Calgary and the Flames organization I want to specifically thank you all for the outpouring love and support you have for John myself and our family thank you to the many of you that traveled this far to be here with us it's your memories videos tributes and kind words that I'm so tightly holding on to to one day show our babies how truly special their daddy was and how loved he was thank you for that calary it's special a special place in John's heart and mind I really am blown away by your kindness but at the same time I'm not surprised at all because I have been lucky enough to call Calgary my home with John I got to experience firsthand what kind of people you are John was so kind because having lived there for about 10 years he became a calgarian as well I still planned to one day show our kids the City of Calgary and where their daddy experienced some of the best times of his life where he made lifelong friends and where he called home for 10 years thank you for being our home away from home and for loving John so so much he's forever of flame and I'm so proud of that and so proud to call calary Calgary my home away from home as well to Columbus and our Blue Jackets family I can't describe how shattered I am that I don't get more time in your amazing City with John the most underrated City I'm so glad we got to learn the Hidden Gem that is Columbus Ohio together we had our first baby the same week we moved to Columbus for John's first season as a blue jacket we welcomed our daughter Noah Daddy's twin John instantly was the best dad in the world so cautious so gentle so loving and nurturing absolutely in love with his little girl who never missed a single one of Daddy's games Noah is John's light that shines through every day the happiest little girl with black curly hair and the darkest brown eyes you've ever seen shaped just like her daddy's Columbus thank you for taking care of us when we were experiencing so many changes at once you so quickly became home and became our family and the memories we made in Columbus as a girl growing family are the best years of my life without having to explain all the little details know that there were so many little signs as we got to know the city that truly made us feel reassured that we had made the right choice choosing in Columbus thank you to the fifth line and the Blue Jackets Organization for your love and support and comforting words John was so proud to wear your colors every single day he knew and appreciated how special of a community you are he felt comfortable and he felt like he fit right in thank you for giving him that feeling of comfort security and belonging when he was enduring a massive change you know it's a special place when the hockey season is over but you're not quite ready to pack up and go home yet and that is Columbus the way I described Columbus is similar to the way I described John you have to come and find out for yourself and then once you know it you love it something else I love about John is how laidback he was about everything sometimes too laid back most of his pregame interviews you can find him wearing my clothes my slippers my hat that had his my family's dog embroidered on it first the nice clothes I would buy him specifically for the Limelight he couldn't care less he would wake up early with the kids on even on busy game days to help me some mornings I would try to get him to change before going to the ring for an interview because he was covered and spit up but he would just say no I like it there he was proud of it and off he went there was one time he was rushing rushing to get changed and came flying down down the steps wearing one of my maternity sweatshirts I begged him to change out of his out of it but he argued that it fit and looked fine so then I started laying out his clothes every single night no matter what was on the schedule the next day he was so innocently sweet with everything he did I was really busy one morning trying to get the babies and myself ready for an event and John so nervously interrupted me to ask what I had picked out for him to wear as well I'll miss this so much all I ever wanted to do was take care of him and make him happy and he also never ever left the house without kissing all of us goodbye to John's teammates from growing up at hollydell to Boston College to the NHL you were a huge part of John's happiness he was a guys guy and loved being around all the boys he got to live his dream every single day and he never took a single one for granted I know all his closest friends are here today but I'd like to specifically say something to Kevin he and Sean M you've both known John longer than I have which means you helped shape him into the man I fell in love with he looked up to you both on and off the ice you are his brothers which means you're my brothers too thank you for being there with me for when you're experiencing such a great loss as well some of my favorite memories with John have both of you right there with us whatever he was laughing at on his phone or taking pictures of I knew it was something that he's sending to one of you Sean John loved you so much such an effortless and genuine Bond I was honored to be a part of as one of a kind as John was I think you are as close as it gets to being just like him whatever you did he copied if you got a new truck we were in the truck lot the next day you got a golden doodle John got a golden doodle if you were at the dog park we were on our way if you were leaving the party John was grabbing me to leave also I'm sorry to put you on the spot and I'm sure John's cringing at me right now too but know you made John the most excited of her hockey that I've ever seen when you signed in Columbus and I'm heartbroken for you that he cannot be with you on the ice but I'm rooting for you every single night and I know John is too as your special guardian angel now Kevin you and your family were a huge part of John's upbringing into this crazy NHL life he looked up to you and he loved being around your brother and sisters I think Summers spent at the hazes reminded him of his own family so I know this is something he cherished the friendship and bond you have created despite any distance is so strong and [Music] admirable John would always show me the sentimental and hilarious reels that you would sent him on Instagram about Brotherhood because he was just truthfully so honored by them you've been through so much and you were never not there for John no matter what you were a great great person to your core and John loved you so much I love you guys and I want to thank you for being the best best friends to John I think that's the last time we make John cringe during this eulogy it's never ending another year goes by and here comes our second baby just 17 months after Noah John got his boy I've never seen John so surprised in his life he was so proud immediately shedding happy tears and absolutely beaming he kept looking at me and saying I canot believe you gave me a boy when we were discussing names we were going back and forth with suggestions but all of a sudden John cut me off and said I can't not name my son John if we have a boy so John it was a family name of three generations now that I'm so proud proud to be a part of John would let me to take this time to mention baby Johnny's size he's in the 93rd percentile for his weight which is something Daddy is very proud of a little unit he would always say it's funny though because he looks nothing like John his eyes are are blue and his hair is lighter so far pretty straight but I do think baby Johnny has his dad's hands perfect beautiful hands I've always thought let's hope he inherits his dad's hockey hands too John I promise to have baby Johnny on skates soon and to be a dedicated hockey mom that drives any distance to all the tournaments and I'll wake up early for the games even if that means baby Johnny shows up in Winnie the Poo pajamas and sleeps on the bench just like you did popup will Coach him and trip but no pressure baby Johnny mommy and daddy will be proud of you no matter where life takes you but I have a feeling it's taking you straight to holidale to start John and I had the best six months as a family of four these will forever be the best six months in my life there's specifically one week that I will cherish forever and will be my favorite week of my life out of those six months we're actually a family of five I'm in my ninth week of pregnancy with our third baby a total surprise but again John was beaming and so excited I was so nervous because this was again a total surprise but his reaction was just immediately kissing me and hugging me even though I was driving the car after the initial excitement sank in every time he looked at me he would just say you're nuts you know that three kids Noah our oldest hasn't even turned two yet in less than three years of marriage we've created a family of five it doesn't even sound possible but I look at it as the ultimate blessing how lucky am I to be the mother of John's three babies our last one being blessing and so special despite these difficult circumstances to my babies Daddy loves you all so much and you have the best daddy in the world the early mornings with two under two were hard but John truly never ever complained he would do his workouts during nap times even though it hung over his head all morning and he drove to different ranks every week to skate depending on where we were whatever worked best for our family was exactly what John always did he never lost sight of what was most important to him which was time with his family the story I'm about to share is a perfect example of why I love John so much and why he was such a special husband father son brother and Uncle so we don't exactly have a home of our own here yet we' have a beach house but it's in a small town about 1 to two hours away from where we grew up it's a very special town to us since it's where we met and where we got engaged but never quite felt like home fully given its seasonal vacation town feel the house is beautiful with everything you could need if we were ever down the shore for a few days by ourselves he'd start calling everyone in our family to see what their schedules were and if they could come down the shore with us but if they couldn't he would look at me like what are we doing here and and insist on packing up and going to wherever our siblings or our parents were so multiple duffel bags coolers of baby of the baby's food pack and plays toys monitors sound machines would all get thrown into multiple bags and off we went back home to the suburbs the beautiful house on the water would sit empty and he always left his G wagon for my brother to use for his barbacking shifts no problem John sent me this long text on August 4th and I quote I said this before and this is corny but I love the shore and the big house and the nice things that we get to give our kids but the things I enjoy more is watching how excited Noah gets when your mom comes home from work or how fired up she is when she sees my dad come in from a bike ride or how she screams Emma when we pull up to South Valley or when she spends time with Logan and Cameron she doesn't get to see them all very much during the season so it's awesome how excited she is when she spends time with them I love the shore and it's been rough summer with all the stuff we've had to do with weddings but soon we will have our own home and we can host everyone a lot more and it's closer for everyone and then when everyone goes down the shore we'll go too but yeah I love the shore but I love how much Noah loves being with her family I really do mean it John that's not corny at all that's why I love you and it's why you're perfect so back to our childhood bedrooms we would go to our parents houses except now we're squeezing in pack and plays and Cribs strollers boxes of diapers bottles and tins of formula dumped all over the entryway and across the kitchen counter Bailey was on everyone's couch and dirty diapers and Minnie Mouse toys were everywhere oh and his hockey equipment that was airing out any space he could find my mom would come home from work around 600 to see our car in the driveway and immediately knew she was going to be making an 800m homemade dinner that John was waiting for all day and she always did John's mother Jane would see us and immediately Ed a vacation day for the following morning or he would purposely go over to her house on Thursday nights knowing she was off on Fridays everyone spoiled John but he deserved every second of it people would laugh as we slept on the couches and on the floor knowing our big house in Avalon was completely empty everyone would say why are you here in the middle of the summer and not at the beach but we knew why he could talk all of us into doing whatever he wanted to do no problem what's for dinner ask John what he wants if I open a bottle of wine John will you have some he'd say just open it and we'll get more tomorrow to my parents-in-law Jane and G my baby's mom and papa you've raised Two Perfect boys and should be very proud of yourselves John and Maddie set the standard high on what it means to be good brothers and Sons best friends with one another and genuine good people I've heard stories and I know raising these two boys so close in age was no easy feet they were both Family First always and I wonder where they got that from I pray that my relationship with my kids will mirror the relationship you have with all four of yours I also pray that my children grow up to be as close with each other as your children are I couldn't ask for anything more Jane my other mother John was the ultimate mama's boy in the best way and I loved this about him his personality is so much like yours and clearly that is so special to me and I love you g my other dad you were John's best friend too he wanted you to be a part of everything with him road trips it was no question that you would share a hotel room together boys night out no question you were coming with him he would check in on you all throughout the day and he loved training with you this summer he loved you both so much and was so grateful for everything you sacrificed for him to Kristen although you're 10 years older you and your friends quickly became John's best friends too I remember one summer realizing I hadn't seen my own friends in weeks but I'm with yours every single day and I just laughed Katie Caitlyn is John like to call you it never felt like we were bringing around my boyfriend's little sister he invited you everywhere with us because he genuinely wanted you there part of my wedding speech to you said you cannot choose family but you can choose your friends and I'm so lucky to have you as both you girls were John and Matty's biggest fans and I want you to know that they both knew that they loved you both so much Maddie John's number one no matter what I'm sorry Kristen and Katie but Maddie is John's favorite his favorite person in the world I've noticed in group pictures John's always hugging Maddie or has his arm around him even at weddings if I couldn't find John I just start looking for Matt I have to acknowledge that I feel so bad that so much of this attention has been placed on John when it was both of them but I also want to acknowledge that this attention on John was something something Maddie never ever complained about everything was always John and Maddie Maddie was the best the best brother to John he was John's biggest fan and John was his Maddie wanted everything for John and all John wanted to do was share it with his brother and they did John delayed starting his NHL career to be with Maddie at Boston College and as I said before John was well into his NHL career but chose to come home in the Summers to his twin-sized bed to share a room with Maddie Maddie was the perfect brother I know it couldn't have been easy sharing him but all John ever wanted was Maddie I don't know how to say it but the fact that you were both together now in heaven gives me a little bit of comfort knowing you are of course together I know John would not be able to live a day without his brother he loved him so much and I will miss you Maddie I love you and I really appreciate you sharing your best friend with me and for loving our babies like your own I'm so proud to call you my brother-in-law and I want you to know I will soon be Trip's favorite aunt because I owe you that for being such a loving Uncle to Noah and baby Johnny I'm sorry Katie and Kristen again but I will be his favorite ant I want to say to everyone that neither John nor Maddie suffered it makes me feel better knowing whatever silly conversation they were having just picked right back up in heaven in a Flash I can hear their laughs so well in the back of my head and something else that is getting me through this knowing they would not want to see me like this because they are both so sweet and cared so much about other people so I'm trying for them to spread that message and to be more like them kind to everyone selfless and fun to be around two loving sons and brothers and friends the best uncles in the world and the best husbands and fathers I love baby trip so much already and I'm anxiously waiting to hold him and finally have a buddy for baby Johnny to play with John and Maddie's little boys will grow up together and give m mom and puup a hard time I'm sure and I can't wait talk about being spoiled these babies are in for a treat and they deserve it meline Maddie is so proud of you the love of his entire life you spent the majority of your lives together which is something I'm so jealous of the love he had for you was incomparable you made him the happiest guy in the world every single day I'll always be here for you forever you are my sister and I love you someone wrote to me in a response to a post of a youth hockey team honoring John's Jersey but I think it applies to everyone she said if these kids emulate your husband and his brother what a beautiful generation it will be I thought that was really nice one of John's favorite movies is the greatest showman he loved a good musical I couldn't sleep a few nights ago and I was flipping through the channels and the greatest showman was playing on TV in the middle of the night I CAU the end of the movie that quoted the noblest art is that of making others happy John you made me the happiest girl in the world it's really hard for me to wrap this up because I still could go on forever about how much I love John and how special he was these words still don't touch on my love for John but no words ever will John my husband my best friend and my soulmate to Daddy you spent your entire life working hard for your family and making us so proud of you every single day but now it's my turn to make you proud as you watch down on us from heaven and I will do that for you because you deserve that you gave me the ultimate happy life and the least I can do for you now is make you proud as you watch down on us from heaven with Uncle Maddie by your side a huge part of me died but the other part of me will be stronger for our children I promise to be strong for our children and to take care of them and love them double now for you they will know how special their daddy was and they will make you proud they will know how much you love them every single day thank you for giving me the greatest gift of all which is family and your love thank you for being for the best years of my life I'm so grateful for that day I met you and every day after that thank you for choosing me as your wife and for making me a mother thank you for being my best friend I miss you so much and I love you you are my forever and I cannot wait till we're all together again please watch over us me and the kids love you and are so proud to call you our forever please please stand my friends before we go our separate ways let us now take leave of our brothers May our farewell express our affection for them may it ease our sadness and strengthen our hope one day we shall joyfully greet them again when the love of Christ which Conquers All Things destroys even death itself [Music] [Music] come to their Rao [Music] saints of [Music] God come me them angels of the Lord receive their souls oh holy [Music] one present them now to God most [Music] high May Christ who called them take them home and angelss lead you to [Applause] Abraham receive their souls ohy one [Music] PR them now to God most [Applause] time 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