Gordie Howe 'amazing' while being honored by hockey greats
Hockey's royalty gathered Friday night in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to honor Mr. Hockey, and Gordie Howe -- on his death bed just two months ago at his daughter's home in West Texas -- didn't disappoint.
"He was amazing," son Murray Howe said in a telephone interview after the festivities. "It was way past his bedtime, but you would not have known it. He was totally 'game on' for everything, and he had so much fun."
In what was billed as his final public appearance -- although his family has hinted that it might not be -- Gordie Howe was in his native Saskatchewan to be honored by the Kinsmen Club of Saskatoon, the local chapter of a national service organization. Among the evening's highlights: the announcement that a local rink, the Kinsmen Arena, will henceforth be known as the Gordie Howe Kinsmen Arena.
Attendees included Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull and Brett Hull, as well as many political dignitaries and other celebrities.
"He was up on stage for about a half-hour with my brothers (Mark and Marty) and all those other great players," Murray Howe said.
Gordie Howe didn't address the crowd, but reportedly smiled the whole night and laughed a lot, too.
"It was all so amazing -- the most moving sporting event that I've ever attended -- and I think it left an indelible memory for everyone who was there," Murray Howe said. "It was so moving to see all those icons, all telling stories about what he meant to them ... There wasn't a dry eye in the house."
Gordie Howe, 86, suffered a debilitating stroke in October, and six weeks later, his family thought he had just days to survive. But after undergoing stem-cell therapy in Mexico in early December, Howe made an extraordinary recovery.
Before that, he couldn't stand on his own power. Within a few days, he was walking without assistance.
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"They had a wheelchair ready for him when we arrived (Friday night)," Murray Howe said. "We told them, 'If they give it to him, he'll just carry it around.' "
The trip from Texas to Saskatoon on Thursday turned out to be epic. Murray described how a three-hour flight on a private jet became a journey of more than 12 hours because the plane had mechanical problems and detoured to Dallas.
In Dallas, the Howes scrambled to find another flight and worried they might be stuck there before some volunteer pilots flew them to Minot, North Dakota. From there, they caught another flight to Saskatoon.
Gordie Howe was to have dinner Thursday evening with Wayne Gretzky, but the Howes didn't arrive in Saskatoon until 10:30 p.m. They left home at 10 a.m. So instead, Gordie Howe and Gretzky visited over breakfast Friday morning, Murray Howe said.
The family will remain in Saskatoon for a memorial service for Gordie Howe's brother, Vic, who died at 85 last Saturday. Murray Howe also planned to spend part of Saturday giving his children, who made the trip, a special tour.
"They've never been to Saskatoon," he said, "so I thought we'd drive around and show them some special family history; some Gordie Howe sites -- where he went to school, the homes he lived in, the arena they named after him, the Gordie Howe Park. It should be really fun."
The Howes plan to accompany Mr. Hockey back to Texas on Sunday, with memories they will cherish forever.
"We as a family are so fortunate that we've been given this memory," Murray Howe said. "Everyone was so gracious. It's something we'll always treasure.
"And we're so grateful that Stemedica (the stem-cell research firm) reached out to us, so that we were able to have my father here tonight. We're so thankful and so grateful."
