The city of Saskatoon celebrated a hockey legend on Sunday.
Gordie Howe died in June at the age of 88. Since then, the Saskatoon Blades and his family have been working to bring Howe home as part of ‘Thank You, Mr. Hockey Day.’
“My father had such a wonderful life,” said Mark Howe, Gordie’s son. “For us, as a family, to come up and to take part in the tribute that the people of Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Blades have put on for dad is just wonderful.”
Sixty-one of Gordie’s family members travelled to Saskatoon for the event. Both Gordie’s and his wife Colleen’s ashes were interred at the Gordie Howe statue at SaskTel Centre. Following the ceremony, the family visited the newly renamed Gordie Howe Bridge and Gordie’s childhood home and elementary school.
“You see in the hallways here in the school just the evidence of him and the excitement that he was here,” Murray Howe, Gordie’s son, said. “I picture him walking, or probably running, through those hallways and how cool that had to be.”
Staff at King George Community School also remembered Gordie’s legacy.
“He worked hard and he played hard, and he worked hard at something he wanted to get really good at,” said Krista Sego, principal of King George School. “But, he was also such a kind and friendly and humble man. I think all that combined is something that the kids want to grow up and be like.”
In true Gordie Howe fashion, the day ended with a hockey game. Saskatoon Blades players wore special tribute jerseys for the game. They’ll be auctioned off to raise money for the Gordie Howe Alzheimers Fund.
“For all the kids that have played hockey, for all the hockey that’s going on in Canada and in and around those little small communities, there’s a belief that you can make it,” Murray Howe said. “Gordie provided that for all of us.”
Based on a report by CTV Saskatoon's Taylor Rattray
