A week and a half after the tragic deaths of John and Matthew Gaudreau, hundreds gathered for an emotional funeral service Monday in Media, Penn., to honour the brothers’ lives.
The service follows days of tributes pouring in from across the hockey world and sports world at large, honouring the pair’s time on the ice together at Boston College, and their separate journeys through the professional ranks, too. On Monday, the Gaudreau family remembered John and Matthew for all they were away from the game they loved: as adoring sons, brothers, husbands and fathers.
“Most people know Matty as a hockey player, a hockey coach, a friend, a mentor,” said Madeline Gaudreau, wife of Matthew. “While he was all of those things, he was so much more.”
As much as the pair dedicated themselves to their craft, from the beginning, they put family above all else, both Madeline and Meredith Gaudreau — wife of John — said Monday. Even as the elder Gaudreau’s career took him north of the border to Calgary, and to the height of his sport, his priorities remained unchanged.
“He truly was a family-first guy, and this is something about him I admired,” Meredith said of her husband. “Early mornings with two (children) under two were hard, but John truly never, ever complained. He would do his workouts during nap times, even though it hung over his head all morning. He drove to different rinks every week to skate, depending on where we were. Whatever worked best for our family was exactly what John always did.
“He never lost sight of what was most important to him, which was time with his family.”
Rev. Tony Penna, who presided over the service at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church Monday, urged the brothers’ parents, Guy and Jane, to look out among the crowd and feel the weight of the impact their sons had on their communities.
“By the overwhelming presence, and overwhelming number of people here today, they’re sending a message to you,” he said. “That John and Matthew’s lives mattered. That they were noticed on this earth. They were loved on this earth and they were valued on this earth.”
Meredith took a moment to share words of appreciation for two among the gathered crowd in particular — Kevin Hayes and Sean Monahan, the latter of whom spent nearly a decade alongside John in Calgary, and was set to reunite with him in Columbus.
“He looked up to you both, on and off the ice,” she said. “You are his brothers, which means you’re my brothers, too. Thank you for being there with me, when you’re experiencing such a great loss as well. Some of my favourite memories with John have both of you right there with us.
“Sean, John loved you so much. Such an effortless and genuine bond, I was honoured to be a part of. As one of a kind as John was, I think you are as close as it gets to being just like him. Whatever you did, he copied. If you got a new truck, we were in the truck lot the next day. You got a golden doodle, John got a golden doodle. If you were at the dog park, we were on our way.
“You made John the most excited for hockey that I’ve ever seen when you signed in Columbus. I’m heartbroken for you that he cannot be with you on the ice. But I’m rooting for you every single night, and I know John is too, as your special guardian angel.”
Above all others, though, there was no bond stronger in either John or Matthew’s life than the one the brothers shared with each other, Madeline said.
“Unless you knew them personally, even the most perfect words, pictures or videos could not accurately describe it. They were attached at the hip,” she said. “They slept in the same room up until college, and neither of them ever wanted that to change. I remember in our early years of dating, our friend group would go to country concerts, and when we got back to the house we were staying at, Matty and I would go to bed — we would always wake up with John right in the middle somehow.
“John took care of Matty, and Matty would take care of John. To know both of them was to truly love them. It was impossible not to fall in love with them. Meredith said it best — you do not hear one name without the other.”
“Everything was always John and Matty,” Meredith added during her eulogy. “Matty was the best brother to John — he was John’s biggest fan, and John was his. Matty wanted everything for John, and all John wanted to do was share it with his brother. And they did. John delayed starting his NHL career to be with Matty at Boston College. John was well into his NHL career, but chose to come home in the summers, to his twin-size bed, to share a room with Matty.
“All John ever wanted was Matty. I don’t know how to say it, but the fact that you’re both together now in heaven gives me a little bit of comfort. … I know John would not be able to live a day without his brother. He loved him so much.”
As tributes continue to pour in from Calgary and Columbus — where thousands gathered over the past week to pay their respects to the brothers’ lives — and on social media — including a GoFundMe set up to support Madeline and Matthew’s first child, which has surpassed $655,000 — the Gaudreau family said they hope to honour John’s and Matthew’s lives in how they navigate the difficult path forward without them.
“The loss of Matty and John will leave a hole in the family, with his close friends, the community, for eternity,” said Madeline. “However, their legacy will live on through the lives of everyone they touched — their kids, their wives, their parents, their siblings.
“God really did draft the best two boys. Linemates forever.”