Murray Howe’s eulogy excerpts paint a picture

“Yesterday, a fan told me that in order to fulfil his dying wish, her beloved husband was buried in his Gordie Howe jersey.” “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.’” “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.” “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.” “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.” “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.” 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.’ ” “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.’ ” 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.”