DETROIT — Murray Howe, the youngest son of Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, delivered a eulogy at his father’s funeral on Wednesday. Here are some excerpts from his speech:
"Yesterday, a fan told me that in order to fulfil his dying wish, her beloved husband was buried in his Gordie Howe jersey."
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"I loved watching him shine his shoes, tie his tie, put on his best suit and his hat to go for the game. In the dressing room, he would take off each piece, fold it, hang it nicely. Everything was perfect. Even after my dad was in his 80s women would remark to me ‘Wow, your father is so good looking."’
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"Wayne Gretzky at the age of 10 was at an awards banquet with my dad, and the emcee mistakenly asked Wayne to say a few words to accept his award, forgetting that Wayne was only 10 years old. Mr. Hockey grabbed the microphone and said anyone who scores 378 goals in a season doesn’t need to say another word."
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"He always looked so effortless, whether he was skating, swinging a golf club, chopping wood or wielding his favourite tool, a sledge hammer. Even in his last years, as his balance waned, the few times that he fell, he rolled gracefully and popped back up with a grin."
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"He was never late for anything. 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."
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"If a fan told him a story, he would not interrupt no matter how long they spoke. And he would not correct them, even if they insisted they watched him play in the Summer Olympics in 1906. He accepted everyone for who they were, unless they were a boy with long hair. Then he got a little lecture."
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"We were walking by Lourdes University right near our house two years ago and I remarked how beautiful the grounds were and he said ‘This is the closest I’ve ever been to college."’
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"My wife’s cousin Maureen works for the FBI. During dinner one night, I mentioned to her that my dad used to know Jimmy Hoffa very well. My dad leaned in close to Maureen and looked around to make sure nobody else was listening and he said ‘I know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.’ And Maureen said ‘You do?’ And he said ‘In the ground."’
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On the day Marty was sent home from school after beating up a classmate who said "Gordie Howe sucks":
"My dad got home and my mom starts reading him the riot act — She says ‘You’re the reason he was doing all this, you’re teaching him violence.’ My dad didn’t say a word, he waited till my mom left the room, he looked around and he said to Marty (in a whisper) ‘Good job."’
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"He could not walk past a piece of trash without picking it up. In later years as it became tougher for him to bend over, he would stop and point to the trash and he wouldn’t budge until I picked it up."
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"When he was playing with Houston, he got hit in the back of the head with a slapshot from one of his own players and it knocked him out. He went straight down. He got up a couple minutes later, shook it off and finished the practice. Unbelievable."
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"He held doors open for everyone. Even in his last years after his stroke he would go to the aid of ladies and help them unload their grocery cart. He would never touch his food without first offering it to those around him, even at his last meal."
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"He would sweep the neighbour’s driveway and my neighbour came home and took a picture of him and said ‘How important am I? Gordie Howe is sweeping my driveway."’
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"Sometimes his helpfulness backfired. He opened a door for a woman and she said ‘I didn’t ask you to do that!’ And he said ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were a lady.’
"He shovelled his neighbour’s driveway with about a foot of snow and the neighbour came out and said ‘I didn’t ask you to do that.’ So he shovelled it right back onto the driveway."
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On the day Murray was skating on the ice at the old Detroit Olympia arena and his dad fired a puck from the other end of the ice, knocking Murray off his feet.
"I looked down at the other end and here’s my dad laughing and going ‘Scorrrres!’ I think that’s child abuse. I’m not sure."
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On a visit back to some of his childhood homes in Saskatoon in 2012:
"We didn’t just stand outside and say ‘Oh that’s a nice house.’ We knocked on the door and whey they opened, he said ‘Hi I’m Gordie Howe, I used to live here.’ They said ‘We know who you are Mr. Howe. Please come in."’
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On a day when they were hiking together and Howe fell down a hill:
"He had lots of bumps and bruises on his head and his arms. Pretty much he was bleeding over his whole body."
After bandaging him up at a local lodge, an elderly fisherman there said: "Well it looks like now’s my chance that I can finally take Gordie Howe."
"My dad said ‘Not so fast and grabbed the guy in a head lock."’
