Eulogy of David on behalf of his friends given by Mike Nolan, St. Georges Church, Ottawa, November 13, 2006

DAVID JODOIN

Good Morning:

I’m Mike Nolan.

Margaret asked me to say a few words about David on behalf of his friends this morning…. Sometimes the hurt is too big for words.

I am truly honored to speak about my friend Davie…our friend Dave…where do you begin?

Let’s begin by looking at the number of people who filed into the funeral home over the last few days…they were lined up to Baseline Road…and look at the numbers in this church this morning.

Dave was liked and loved by everyone he came in contact with. How could you not like Dave Jodoin. He had a way of drawing you in.

He was charming. He had the millionaire smile and the movie star hair. He held court when he talked …and man that boy could talk.

For many years a bunch of the guys…Mike Lafleur, Marty Vallee, Mark Kovalsky, Mark Armstrong, Paul Meloche, Wayne Woltman, Paul Kelly, Denis Chalifoux…too many to mention….had season tickets first with the Ottawa Rough Riders and then later with the Ottawa Renegades. We use to flip a coin to see who got to sit beside Dave…..and of course the loser got to sit beside Dave because he would talk your ear off.

We would say “Jodoin, do you ever shut up”?.... but of course we didn’t want him to shut up because we all loved his stories and his animated way of telling them….

We are going to miss his stories, his voice and his laughter dearly.

Dave was passionate about so many things. He would talk about Politics and the way our Municipal and Federal politician’s were messing things up…of course always being clearly descriptive with his words.

And isn’t it fitting that there’s a Polling station here today in the basement!

By the way is Sheila Copps here?..…I didn’t think so.

Dave was a ferocious reader. He loved to engage you in a conversation about the latest book or author he was reading like Nelson Demille;

Or the latest Conspiracy Theory about the Kennedy Assignations; or what really happened to Jimmy Hoffa.

Even if you weren’t interested, Dave had a way of just making you listen…. to make you be interested…to really engage you.

He loved his sports and he was very athletic.

* He had played high school football;
* He was a darn good hockey player with Algonquin College;
* A better than average golfer;
* A great skier;
* A good sailor and strong swimmer.



His best sport of course was Pro-Line.

For any of you who ever tried to watch an NFL game or a college football game on TV with Dave…you’d be dizzy.

He could switch from channel to channel faster than OJ leaving a Clan Meeting…by the way, what I just said was a Jodoinism.

Everyone here knows what I mean. He would say things like:

“He was sweating like a Turkish lawyer”

Or

“They beat him like a rented mule”

That was Dave Jodoin. He had hundreds of them.

When I think of Dave, the word entertainment comes to mind.

When you were with him,

* Whether it was a night of boxing at his favorite charity “Ringside for Youth”
* Or a night of Monday night football at Grace O’Malley’s, (incidentally I heard the stocks at Gracie’s dropped this week)
* Or 4 days in Montréal during the Ice Storm at Hotel de La Montague
* Or a week in Barbados...you knew the entertainment rating would be high…off the scale as a matter of fact.




The Dave Jodoin Entertainment Package usually came in one of three parts:

The first was Dave entertaining the troops with stories;

The stories could be about:

* Something that happened on one of our ski trips;
* Or Rad Shop stories like the guy who brought his Corolla in for a leaky gas tank but by the time Dave was through with him he had basically replaced his whole vehicle; Dave’s nephew Judd can share the details of the “Car from Hell” story with you;
* It was Dave’s ability to quote line by line from movies or his favorite sitcom “My Name is Earl” or “ Da Ali G Show”….now that “Borat” is on the big screen….can you imagine Dave doing those impersonations?
* Some of you might have heard Dave tell one of his family pet stories…if you haven’t seen “Max the goofy dog”; or “Homer the 150 pound cat” that looks like a clown with a black strip on his white face or “Cecil the pet hamster” that eats people in the basement…they’re all comic book characters and they could only belong to Dave Jodoin.



The second part of the Entertainment Package would be Dave’s audience…and I really mean audience… telling their version of a Jodoin story. Those funny stories were not urban legends or myths…they were all true…they were about a man ….who, as Mike Lafleur would say, “Was larger than Life”

But of course the third and best part of the Entertainment Package would be with Dave in the making of a new Dave Jodoin Story. The new story, soon to become a legend, would be unfolding before your eyes…being created by Dave as only he could create it. That was the best part of the Package…..

And the one we’ll never be able to share again.

Dave was a kind, loyal and caring man who would do anything for his family and friends.

I know he touched so many of us with his generosity

* Whether it was helping you out of a personal jam
* Or giving you a job or getting you connected with someone
* Or simply just looking out for you.



You knew you were under the Protective Custody of Dave Jodoin. And he was always there to bail you out.

If you have driven by the Rad Shop on Gladstone over the last few days, you couldn’t help but notice the dozens of yellow ribbons made from caution tape used by the Police or Fire Departments. They’re draped all around the building…20 feet high…in honor of Dave…once again a simple but powerful symbol of how he touched our lives.

Beneath the laughter and the craziness was a gentle soul.

His family meant so much to him. His love for Margaret….his “Maggie”, who is one of the most courageous and stoic women I have ever met….and who will need us to continue Dave’s love for her…continue ….not replace.

His devotion to his girls…Aimee and Danielle.

You were the part that made your dad really special. You helped to mold and shine “the diamond in the rough”

Margaret, Aimee, Danielle…You are the one’s that our hearts are heaviest for.

When I was trying to write this eulogy I could see Dave smiling and laughing. In that way, it was easy and inspirational….but it was so, so painful. I tried to relieve the pain by saying… “Well Dave has just joined Marty… and they are up there pulling for the Habs wearing their Hab ties and…singing “Les Canadiens sont la”.

10 months ago, on the day of Marty’s funeral, the Montreal Canadians were in town to play the Ottawa Senators.

Is it coincidental that tonight the Montreal Canadians are in town to play the Ottawa Senators? It’s their gift to us.

David is gone from here, but he hasn’t left us.

.

There is a bunch of us from ST. Joe’s High School, that go back to 1965….41 years…. 41 years!

My partner Deb…. as she met each of the guys said “we were a unique group of men, because we maintained such a deep friendship over such a long period of time”….
She said “we were brothers”



Today…”We are saying Goodbye to a brother”

I have a painting at home called “AMIGOS”. It’s a picture of friends probably in their 70’s…. sitting around a table having a beer… and although our table is getting smaller our remembrance of our dearest and most special friend will always be with us.

David’s passing reminds us of how precious life is and how important it is to love the one’s that are close to us…To live life to the fullest.

Elton John was in town Friday night and I can’t help but think about his song “Daniel”. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I changed it to David.

“Oh David My Brother,

You Are Older Than Me,

Do You Still Feel The Pain

Of The Scars That Won’t Heal?

Your Eyes Have Died. But you see more than I.

David You’re A Star In The Face Of The Sky”.



David we miss you very much.

Help us be strong…. we love you!