Coping with a loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things we can face. It’s heartbreaking when kids lose their dad at a young age and nothing can fill the gap the loss of a parent gives.
When Brad died, he left a wife and three kids behind, but his passion for hockey gave them an idea to honor his memory in a unique way
When Brad Harrison, a passionate hockey player, passed away after losing a struggle with small cell carcinoma of the prostate, he left behind a rich legacy that would provide some comfort to his widow and two kids, and ease the pain of his passing.
The backyard hockey rink Brad built each year became a family shrine dedicated to his memory
Brad’s wife Beth said how she was initially against the idea of having a hockey rink in her backyard. “I didn’t want the upkeep; I didn’t want to deal with it. So, I said, ‘Fine, but I’m hands-off.’”
However, their kids, 9-year-old Beckham, 11-year-old Ailee, and 21-year-old Kayla loved spending time in the rink with their dad but their family idyll would soon come to a premature end.
‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’
The couple took their two kids, Beckham and Ailee, to a lakeside campsite to spend a summer with their dad. Then came the time to explain to them it was the last summer they would spend together, and it wasn’t easy.
“We just held them and tried to answer their questions, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Beth said.
Brad left a video for his family but found it hard to hold back tears. “I hope they can be okay with me being gone and I just worry a lot that it’s going to be hard.”
Brad’s hockey friends were eager to help Beth build the rink
“We’re a tight-knit group, us hockey families,” Kayleigh McGinnis, the organizer of the rink build, said. It was time to get down to work and show Brad how much everyone loved him.
Work was completed twelve days before Brad died. Even though he could no longer be with his family, he knew that a part of him would remain with them.
“We know that he loved to play hockey and he loved to skate with you guys,” Beth told her two children, embracing them as she stood at the rink a couple of weeks after Brad’s passing.
With the rink completed, Beth thought it the best place to scatter his ashes
“This was his accomplishment. It was a way to spend tons of time with the kids,” Beth said after the family scattered Brad’s ashes just outside the rink.
One cold night, the family could be seen battling on their dad’s beloved court, with Beth as the goalkeeper and her two children and family friends trying to score.
“He would be very proud that I did it and he would be very proud that I did it for the kids,” Beth says, “just like he would have.”
Our loved ones stay with us as long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts. Perhaps they never truly leave us at all but become a part of ourselves.
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