The Ralph Klein Centre was packed Wednesday, March 21 as about 1,000 people attended a celebration of life for Olds resident Ryan McBeath.
McBeath, 17, an Olds High School student and Midget AAA hockey player with the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, passed away March 13 in a two-vehicle collision in dense fog on Highway 27 east of Torrington at Rge. Rd. 252.
The floor of the gym was filled with mourners, as were the bleachers on the north and south sides of the room. Only a few seats were vacant here and there. The lights were turned down low.
Hockey was Ryan's passion. The family had asked attendees to wear their favourite jersey, and the majority did. The crowd was awash in a wide variety of colourful jerseys, including several Grizzlys ones.
Many moving tributes to Ryan were given during the service. Speakers admired Ryan's hockey skills, as well as his drive and determination to succeed -- not only in that sport, but also in school, where he was an excellent student.
Lots of references were made to his nicknames, including Beef, Beefy, and Moose.
Speakers expressed their sympathy to Ryan's parents Shannon Barr-Matile and Barry McBeath, as well as his brother Robert, and Ryan's girlfriend, Avery Schem, who also shared her thoughts during the service.
Jo Dee Messina's If Heaven Was Needing A Hero was played at the beginning of the service.
In part, the lyrics are:
I'd have held you and never let go
Oh it's kept me awake night wonderin'
I lie in the dark, just asking why?
I've always been told you won't be called home until it's your time
Somebody just like you
Brave enough to stand up for what you believe and follow it through."
Rev. Harold Bruen officiated.
"Today, you know the heartache caused by fog. The fog lifted, and Ryan was gone," he said.
"On the ice, he was a team player and he didn't back down from a challenge. Off the ice, he was just as brave and devoted at home.
"The tragedy we feel today is that one who held such promise, not only for the game of hockey -- perhaps even as importantly for the game of life -- will no longer be able to leave his mark on the world.
"It feels so sad, so unreal, so stupid, so unfair. But the truth is this: the quality of Ryan's life did not die in that awful denseness of the fog he could not overcome. It was very much alive in you -- and all those he touched in his slightly more than 17 years of living," he said.
Bruen described Barry and Shannon as "the most outstanding parents that any teenage boys could have asked for. They helped him -- as so many of you did, his teachers did, his peers -- become the kind of person he was becoming."
Bruen quoted from the book of Ecclesiastes, which was turned into a song named Turn, Turn Turn by folk musician Pete Seeger.
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
Bruen also quoted a portion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
Ryan's girlfriend, Avery Schem, was among many who gave very emotional tributes.
"It's amazing to see the love people have for Ryan," she said. "He completely changed my life and how I view the world. I had never been so happy as I was with him. I am so blessed I got to have him in my life. He would succeed at anything he put his mind to, except for trying the Wii. I could beat him at that....he wasn't too happy about it."
"He never wasted an opportunity to tell me how much he loved me," Schem added. "So many people admired him and he set the bar high for so many people. He was an intimidating guy until you got to know him; he was a big softie.
"He promised me he would never leave me," she said before becoming overcome with emotion.
Tributes from many of Ryan's coaches throughout his hockey career were given, including by several members of the Red Deer Optimist AAA Chiefs.
Chiefs coach Doug Quinn was among them. He noted Ryan had been with the team the last two years.
"Ryan was a very unique talent when he joined our Chiefs. He was a physically strong player who could really shoot a puck," he said.
"He was one of our leaders, one of our captains, one of the hardest workers, and has been nominated as an all-star and other league awards. To see the growth in Ryan from the first time I met him -- not only as a player, but as a person and a human being -- he had great potential.
"It's very sad...we will not... have the opportunity to watch that potential grow," he said before becoming overcome with emotion.
Rev. Bruen gave closing comments.
"I want to leave with you feelings of a God that has meant much for me across the years; a God who feels a lot of pain; a suffering God who knows our anguish, who can lift that fog that overshadows the path on which we are travelling," he said.
"A God who can bring healing to our brokenness, can offer strength, courage, for the living of our day, whose love will not fail us.
"Grieving is very personal. It takes a long time. And what I find is that all too often, we try to run through grief when we should walk. So walk when you feel prone to run," Bruen added.
"God may appear to be very far away right now, and that's OK. Yet God can be as close as those who come and are here now to share your (life); to walk with you. Who will embrace you when words do not come freely and easy cliches will not help.
"I have seen some of the young people who have come to be with Shannon and Barry in the last few days. And that kind of comfort is the best kind of comfort," he said.
"So share your memories of Ryan. Lean on one another. In doing that, you will wake up one day to see the sun shine again. And when the memory of Ryan seeps into your awareness, it will not be with a tear, but rather, with a smile."
As people began exiting at the end of the service, The Hockey Song by Stompin' Tom Connors was played, followed by the theme from Hockey Night in Canada.
