Wednesday, September 24, 2025
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I’m Shane’s Uncle Gary, and Tim’s brother.
My wife Maureen, and I wanted to share a few of our many memories with Shane:
I will never forget the day Shane was born. My father and I were at the hospital. Tim came out of the delivery room, dressed in blue scrubs. To this day I have never seen someone so overwhelmed with the happiness of just becoming the father of this beautiful baby boy.
In 1987 I moved to Ennismore, which is near Peterborough. Tim and Jody always invited me to their home for Christmas. Shane was very young. The first time I tried to pick him up he cried and didn’t want anything to do with me. Visit after visit I persisted and finally Shane let me pick him up and hold him. I would walk around the house with him, showing and explaining to him things that were hung up on the wall. One item in particular was an owl. I would tell him this is Hootie the owl. Subsequent visits I continued to do the same thing, but one time when we got the owl I asked Shane, who is this? Shane replied Hootie the owl. I guess he was listening.
One time when Shane was a bit older, I asked him to color in 6 boxes on a Lotto 649 card to select some numbers for me. He proceeded to color in 6 boxes that were all next to each other, numbers 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16. I have been playing those numbers every week since. Shane was talented is so many ways, however picking winning lottery numbers was not one of them.
Every year, since 1987, Tim and I fished a local bass tournament in Peterborough. When Shane turned 16 he was old enough to fish the tournament. That year Tim let Shane fish in his place with me. It was a great memory. Later when Michael turned 16 Tim would team up with Michael and Shane with me. The next year we would switch partners. We enjoyed these yearly fishing weekends for years.
As many of you are probably aware, Shane’s creative talents were off the charts. Every year he would fabricate ghosts, scary pumpkins, life-size haunted tree trunks etc. and would decorate the front lawn and house for Halloween with all of his creations. This became a tradition that the entire neighbourhood would look forward to and come out to see.
Just recently, Shane purchased a 1936 Rogers Floor Model- Antique Radio. He said he liked how it looked and wanted to refinish the cabinet. When I found out I offered to restore the electrical chassis so it would work as it once did. Just last month, Tim and Jody dropped off the electrical chassis at our home on the way to their cottage. It was in very bad shape. Initially I was going to work on it over the winter but something drove me to start on it immediately. On September the 4th, Shane’s birthday, I called to wish him a Happy Birthday, turned on his radio and said, Shane do you hear that? That is your radio. He was so very happy that it could be restored; and it made me feel good that I could help him.
Tim, Michael and I will pick up this project from where Shane left off and complete the cabinet, install the chassis and bring his radio restoration project to completion.
Maureen and I would like to say to Tim, Jody, Michael, Leah, Stephanie, Chloe, Megan. Lindsay and all of you here:
The pain in losing this Bright Light, Son, Brother, Uncle, Soul Mate, Father, gentle family man, and friend is inconsolable. Shane wore many hats, yet everything he did in his all too short lifetime unselfishly focused on his family and friends. There are no words to express the grief and sadness in our hearts.
In closing,
Those we love are always with us. Their laughter, their wisdom and their thoughtfulness are gifts of love that are ours to keep. May these gifts from Shane help console us now, and going forward, fill our hearts with their comforting warmth.
Let us all remember Shane’s care-free grin, which always said “I got this”.
