Community says goodbye to bus crash victims
A standing-room only crowd at a hockey rink here Saturday heard about the big heart and caring nature of Logan Boulet. They also heard about the strength of the young Humboldt Broncos defenceman’s actual heart, now beating in the chest of a fortunate organ recipient.
Kevin Higo, Logan’s maternal uncle, told more than 3,000 mourners at Nicholas Sheran Arena that before his nephew’s organs were donated the day after the April 6 crash that killed 16 members of the Saskatchewan hockey team and injured 13 others, an ultrasound technician visited his Saskatoon hospital room.
She had arrived to examine organs that Boulet had registered to donate weeks earlier, when he turned 21. Higo could see Logan’s heart beating on the screen and helped shift his beloved nephew’s body so clearer images of his valves were visible.
“I got to sit there. I got to see his heart,” said a weeping Higo.
“When (the technician) was all done, she looked me right in the eye and she said: ‘That’s the strongest heart that I’ve ever been a part of seeing for donation.’ That’s pretty cool to hear.”
A strong heart. Humboldt Strong. Broncos Strong. Logan Boulet Strong.
Boulet helped at least six people gain a new lease on life, after he let his family know his wished to be an organ donor. No one ever imagined it would be so soon.
Since his gift made the news, organ donation registrations in Canada have spiked. In Alberta, they have increased almost tenfold.
Brian Friesen, one of eight family friends or relatives who eulogized Boulet, said he was at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon last Saturday with Logan’s mother, Bernadine, and father, Toby.
“Logan is a hero. There are six people that have him still living in them. He’s a hero, and I know you’re proud of him and I’m proud of him, too.”
Doug Paisley, a minor-hockey coach of Boulet’s, described his young charge as mature beyond his years, polite, kind and tough.
Paisley said like most hockey coaches, he uses a lot of clichés to motivate his players.
“You can be a good hockey player for a short period of time but you can be a good person your whole life, and I’m not sure I’ve ever coached a better person,” he said.
Noah Postman, a schoolmate from Winston Churchill High School in Lethbridge, said Logan excelled at many sports, including rugby, and was brilliant academically. He also loved music, travel and art.
“He was wise beyond his years and had a good understanding of people,” Postman said inside the arena where Logan played countless games and where flowers from the Calgary Flames and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and wife, Krista, among others, were displayed. Also on view were Logan’s first pair of hockey skates, photos from his world travels and jerseys from the numerous teams he played with.
“He was respectful, kind, easygoing and thought of others before himself. Logan had charisma and is one of those guys everyone liked. It was a privilege to be his friend,” said Postman, who called him an “influencer and memory-maker.”
People from across Canada attended the funeral.
Curtis Wacker drove here from Humboldt on his 55th birthday. He and his wife have billeted Broncos players for years and loved Logan, who would come to their home every Monday night to watch The Bachelor television series with his teammates.
“Logan was such a lovely and polite young man with a good heart and sense of humour,” Wacker said.
Valerie Kostelansky, of Fort Macleod, gave Wacker a huge hug. Her son, Laramie, was billeted with Wacker for two years in Humboldt. Kostelansky has known Logan since he was an infant — chuckling as she recalls he and Laramie crawling down the aisles of the Lethbridge United Church where she and Bernadine Boulet practised bell ringing.
“Logan has always been a beautiful, polite, respectful child, full of energy but (also) politeness and goodness,” said Kostelansky, whose son played for the Broncos for two years before he was traded to a team in Ontario.
“Laramie — well, all of us — are totally heartbroken.”
All attendees were given a variety of coloured ribbons to represent various connections to Logan. Yellow and green for his hockey friends, blue and orange for Winston Churchill High School where Logan graduated and where his father teaches physical education. Mom Bernadine is also a teacher at Dr. Probe Elementary, where Logan also attended.
Logan had planned to become a teacher like his parents.
On Friday night, an almost twohour lineup formed at Martin Brothers Funeral Chapel for a visitation. Logan’s open casket was wept over by a long procession of young and old as photos and video from his too-short but rich life flashed on the screens in the hushed room.
Jared Heidinger, a family friend, called Logan a hero, too.
“Logan’s organ and tissue donation was to bring positivity to people in the event that he passed. I think he had no intention of sparking an organ-donor movement as he has done,” Heidinger said. “He just made a choice. Through his character, Logan was always inspiring to me in life, and he will continue to inspire me in his passing.”
Logan’s family said their goodbyes, but his heart beats on.
“His selfless and empathetic self will live on in the thoughts and actions of so many he has influenced,” his parents said in a written statement.
And in the bodies of six people who owe him so much.
He was respectful, kind, easy going and thought of others before himself. Logan had charisma and is one of thoseguys everyone liked.