Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were both gifted on the ice, but the greatest gift they gave was the love they shared for their families, the game and each other, says Ken Campbell.
If you watched the livestream of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau's funeral Monday afternoon, you'd have a hard time figuring out they were both hockey stars because that was mentioned so infrequently.
But what you would come to realize, over and over and over, is that these two young men were outstanding, loving, and compassionate people, the kind of young men you hope your children will turn out to be someday.
The grief was very palpable, very real and very heart-wrenching. But there was comfort if you looked for it in the right places. It came in the words of Rev. Tony Penna, the chaplain at Boston College who presided over the service, and in the words of Johnny's wife Meredith (who is pregnant with their third child) and Matthew's wife Madeline (who is pregnant with their first child).
"There's not a person in this church today, all of you, who don't feel a burden, a pain, a loss," Father Penna said. "We've been robbed of something here today. Two really wonderful young men who had dreams to chase down, who had futures yet to live, who had goals and accomplishments yet to be achieved. How can we not feel bad today?"
But the one takeaway was that both Johnny and Matthew spread so much love during their time on Earth that someday their loved ones will be able to find comfort in the memories they created.
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