Pancreatic cancer claims lawyer who recorded album for his daughter
Joseph Schuck was more than a lawyer.
The 46-year-old was the “life of the party,” funny, smart and a passionate musician, says his younger brother, Matt.
But above all, he was a loving father.
Schuck died Tuesday morning around 2 a.m. following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
After learning of his cancer diagnosis in January, the Calgary lawyer from Weyburn, Sask., put his musical talents to use and recorded an album dedicated to his 11-year-old daughter, Katie.
“That was his life, his daughter, Katie,” Matt said. “He would do anything for her and loved her a lot. This album was his way of having something for her to remember. Not many people have the ability to do that.”
Schuck once said “the happiest day of my life was when my daughter was born,” according to his wife, Rosanne.
Schuck had always possessed a musical gift, having played the guitar since he was a kid. Matt recalled how his brother hated piano and his parents let him quit to take guitar lessons instead. Schuck called the album “Flower Girl,” based on a song in the album of the same title.
“It’s a song about how his daughter was going to be a flower girl but he was sad that he couldn’t watch her because he and his (former) wife had split up,” his brother said. “He recorded that song when he knew he was going to die. One of the lyrics of the song was that he took solace knowing that someday he’ll get to walk her down the aisle. This made the song so much more sad because he won’t get to do that, either.”
Schuck had planned to perform his songs in a concert dubbed “Schuckfest” on May 18 at Calgary Folk Festival Hall to celebrate the album release. Matt said the family hopes the concert will still go on, with his bandmates performing, as a way of celebrating Schuck and his music.