The Canadian Press
Gregory Strong
DETROIT—A gifted warrior on the ice and a soft-spoken, gentle man off it, Gordie Howe was remembered yesterday as a hockey legend who treated all around him with warmth, respect, and kindness.
“He was irresistible,” said son Murray. “Though he was the size of a gorilla, little kids and little old ladies alike flocked to him the moment he disarmed them with his playful grin and his huge open arms.
“And Dad fed off their love and their positive energy, and it brought him to life no matter how tired or sore he was,” Murray added.
“He made everyone feel as if they were the most special person on the planet.”
Howe died Friday at age 88. His funeral came a day after thousands of people—famous and relatively anonymous—paid respects to Howe during a visitation at Joe Louis Arena.
The adoration for the man many say is the best to ever play the game was on display as dozens of fans waited in light rain to land a seat inside the packed Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Two large buses—with signs displaying “Farewell Gordie Howe”—also dropped off mourners.
Hall-of-Famers Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, and Yvan Cournoyer, along with top executives Gary Bettman, Brian Burke, and Glen Sather, also attended.
A few fans wore red-and-white No. 9 Howe jerseys at the service, which was open to the public.
“I wasn’t a great student,” Gretzky noted.
“The only time I think I ever got an ‘A’ on a book report is because I did [one] on a Gordie Howe book.”
Murray delivered a heart-felt eulogy at his father’s funeral, sharing numerous amusing and touching stories about his dad with some 900 mourners.
“He was never late for anything,” he noted. “To him it was courtesy.
“He made it a point to show up early and to chat with whomever he happened to meet and ask if he could help them.
“It was not surprising to find him helping the servers to set up tables at events where he was the featured speaker.”
Murray added there are “endless superlatives that come to mind when describing my dad,” calling “Mr. Hockey” beloved, fearless, loyal, tough, graceful, playful, handsome, and thoughtful, among other adjectives.
Howe, a native of Floral, Sask., made his debut with the Red Wings in 1946 and spent most of his long career in Detroit.
He was an offensive force on the ice and played with a ruthless, physical edge that instilled fear in his opponents.
“I don’t know of any other human being that can go and knock out teeth, give people cuts, bumps, and bruises, punch them in the nose or elbow them in the nose, and they revered the man,” said Howe’s son, Mark.
Murray recalled that he once asked his father, who suffered a stroke in 2014, what he wanted him to say in his eulogy.
“He said, ‘Say this: Finally, the end of the third period.’ Then he added, ‘I hope there’s a good hockey team in heaven,’” Murray recalled.
“Dad all I can say is, once you join the team, they won’t just be good, they will be great.”
Howe came down with pneumonia earlier this spring and while he recovered, he “lost his desire to eat or drink after that,” Murray noted.
“It was clear he was no longer having fun,” he said. “Dad always said, ‘If it’s not fun, it’s time to do something else.’
“So we filled his final days surrounding him with friends and family, and he knew he was loved.
“‘Mr. Hockey’ left the world with no regrets and although he did not lead the league in church attendance, his life has been the epitome of a faithful servant.”
Murray, a doctor, spoke on behalf of the family at the service.
Howe also left behind son, Marty, his daughter, Cathy, and nine grandchildren. His wife, Colleen, died in 2009 from Pick’s disease.
“I’m hoping and praying he and Mom are just having a wonderful time together right now,” Mark Howe said.
