Mara put together her thoughts about the life of her husband and best friend, Jeff Madigan and has asked me to help share them with you this evening.

When Mara first met Jeff, she saw how beautifully he treated his mother.  She knew early on how well he would treat the women in his life.

He treated Mara like a princess, but when Katelyn was born, he treated her like a queen.  Mara didn't really mind being treated like second fiddle, because the love between the two of them was overwhelming.

Jeff’s entire world revolved around Katelyn in making sure she had the best of everything.  Each year Jeff would spend weeks leading up to Christmas pouring over top toy lists and ordering them early so that she wouldn't miss out on the best toys. They were best buds and had the best times just hanging out as father and daughter. They watched many hockey games together, analyzing plays and players' stats. He would drop everything helping her with anything she needed.  Jeff even took Katelyn clothing shopping with her friends, running back and forth between dressing rooms to find their sizes.  She may be the only 12 year old who knows how to do a Power Point Presentation because Jeff taught her.  For her birthday parties, Jeff would spend hours planning to the last detail.  One year he planned an Amazing Race themed party that took weeks to plan and orchestrate making Katelyn and her friends feel like they were participants of the T.V. show.

Katelyn and her Dad shared a love of the poem In Flanders's Fields.  It was written during the First World War by a Canadian Doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.

Since 1952 the poem has been displayed in the dressing room stalls of the Montreal Canadiens.   It was put there by the general manager at the time Frank Selke Sr. who thought the poem would have great meaning for the hockey team.  On October 16, 2014 at the Montreal Canadiens home opener former goalie, Ken Dryden came from the Bell Centre dressing room to hand the team's ceremonial flaming torch.   He handed it first to Carey Price, Jeff’s favourite goalie of all time, with the words from Flanders Fields "be yours to hold it high", who would then pass it on to the next player and so on. Ken Dryden said it makes sense the poem is in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room. He said "It's true.  We all pass the torch to anybody who comes next.  We do it as parents, as our parents did for us.  We do it with co-workers."

It is only fitting on this day of remembrance that we would share that poem this evening.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, May  1915

In Flanders fields  the poppies  blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That  mark our place: and in the sky

The l arks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the gun below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow.

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

lf ye break faith with us who die

We  shall not sleep, though  poppies grow

ln Flanders fields.

Jeff was diagnosed at 30 years old of a rare kidney disease and had started dialysis sessions 3-4 days a week.

At 34 years of age, six months after they were married, Mara donated a kidney to Jeff so that he would no longer be tied to a machine and enjoy more freedom in life.  It was very rare for two complete strangers to not only be a match in love but a blood and donor match.

But this gift of life was hard for Jeff to accept because he didn't want the transplant to affect her health.  He only agreed to do the transplant once they found out that they would be the first in Ontario to have laparoscopic surgery, meaning less pain and recovery time for Mara as well.

The surgery was a success for 14 years until the disease affected his new transplanted kidney.  In April 2014 he started dialysis again, but this time his health deteriorated.

Mara will now recite the poem, To Remember Me by Robert N.Test

TO REMEMBER ME

The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in an hospital busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.

When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the Bed of Life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.

Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.

Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.

Give my blood to the teen-ager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.

Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.

Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.

Explore every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday, a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against  her window.

Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.

If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudice against my fellow man.

Give my sins to the devil. Give my soul to God.

If by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you.

If you do all I have asked,  I will live forever.

by Robert N.Test

Jeff did not want his health issues to affect his work or family life.  He insisted on going to work every day at Scotiabank, where he worked for 23 years.

He was a hardworking and dedicated employee of the bank.  He was very detailed, organized, an extreme planner.  Anyone who knows Jeff would see him with his pages of to-do lists.  He placed high expectations on himself and expected the same of others at work.  Many employees have remarked that Jeff may have been hard on them, but he told them he did so because he only wanted them to succeed and do better.

He was very strong willed, and very particular in how he wanted certain things done. He kept the nurses at St. Mikes on their toes telling them when and how he should be given his blood tests.  If he was late for work he would ask the nurses to meet him in the hospital lobby to draw blood.

Jeff was very opinionated and was not afraid to share what he was thinking. Sometimes one look was all it took to know what he was thinking, maybe even shaking his head from side to side looking disappointed.

He had an amazing sense of style and fashion.  Harry Rosen was his go to place and many days he would go to work in his colourful striped socks and his multi-coloured laces for his shoes.  His hair had to be perfectly coiffed and his next stylist appointment was marked in his calendar every month.

Jeff insisted on living life to the fullest when it came to his family.  Since Katelyn was born they travelled to many tropical islands.  Zip lining in Costa Rica, hitting the beaches in Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, and Florida.  Snorkeling and visiting the beaches and mountains in Hawaii.   Many countless road trips across Ontario were shared by the family.  When booking hotels Jeff gave Mara a list making sure his family got the best rooms.   The list would include, away from the elevators, away from the stairs, away from the smoking section, away from all noise,  above the eighth or ninth floor, etc. etc.  If The Ritz was available at their place of travel, then it was booked because  he could only have the best for his girls, which didn't go over well with his wife the accountant.

Even in the last four months he was determined to visit New York  and Montreal where he finally had his private tour of the Bell Centre and the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame.  Jeff was not feeling well on the Montreal trip, but refused to miss the tour of the Bell Centre. After finishing the tour, he remarked "no wonder the Bell Centre is called le Temple or the Temple".  He was so happy   with a new burst of energy and yelled in the streets of Montreal "l'm cured!   Throw out my pills! Get rid of the dialysis machine!"

Jeff was a die-hard  Habs fan who loved saying "How many Stanley Cups have you won?" to anyone who tried to compare  a hockey team to his beloved  Habs.

Jeff was appreciated by his neighbours and we loved our driveway  hockey  banter. There are a few of us that enjoy a hockey  team who's last Stanley cup victory was filmed in black and white and Jeff wouldn't let us forget it!

Jeff had an amazing  sense of humour  and his hilarious wit made his tales and storytelling that more engaging.  Many will know about his daily interaction with the GO Train passengers and their hilarious encounters. Jeff would often tell passengers to stop talking so loud or to cover their mouths when coughing. Countless mornings he was chased in the GO Train parking lot by a parking officer trying to give him a ticket for illegal parking - he only received one ticket.

At 6"2" he was just a big kid at heart.  Each week the Madigan shopping  cart was filled with Captain Crunch, Fruit Loops,  and Sugar Crisp, cereals  Katelyn didn't even eat.

Jeff was very caring, genuine, generous to an extreme, truly loved life, his family of three, with Katelyn being his biggest pride and joy.

The words of the Lord Jesus come to mind when he said to his loved ones  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

Please join me in prayer as we remember and celebrate our friend Jeff.