Murray Howe is the youngest son of Detroit Red Wings icon Gordie Howe, who died June 10, 2016, at age 88 and is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player ever. Murray Howe, now head of Sports Medicine Imaging for Toledo Radiological Associates and Promedica Health System’s Sports Care Program in Toledo, recounted his memories of his father in his book, “Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father,” which was released in October 2017. He provided this excerpt for the Free Press this week, after a recent meet-and-greet to promote the book:
Chapter 1: Live Honorably
It’s almost midnight on Friday night, June 10, the day my father drew his last breath. I’m kneeling at the edge of my bed, ready to tackle Dad’s tribute. I’m crushed by the thought that I will never again hear his soft voice, see his impish grin, or feel his viselike “good-morning” embrace. I feel a gaping hole in my heart, and a knot in my stomach. It seems unimaginable to live in a world without Gordie Howe. Where do I even begin?
BUY THE BOOK: “Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father”
But I soldier on, because Dad always insisted that we kids count our blessings in the face of adversity, and never waste a second feeling sorry for ourselves. I found it easy to count my blessings because I recognized how fortunate I was to have had such giving parents. I’m eager to share my love and respect for my dad with the rest of the world. Today marks the end of an exhilarating, unforgettable roller-coaster ride. Although heart-wrenching, it was hands down the best year and a half of my life.
Each day, as soon as I got home from work, Mr. Hockey and I, along with one of his caregivers, would head out to do something fun. I soon discovered that what Dad loved to do most was to be Mr. Hockey. To pose for pictures with fans at the local ice rink, zoo, library, mall, and grocery store. To headlock, face-wash, or elbow the kids. Or just chase them around. And show them how to hold a hockey stick. And how to stab an opponent in the guts with it.
He’s just kidding,” the dads would reassure their youngsters.
Don’t bet on it, I thought to myself.
So many great memories flooded over me as I stared at my laptop. I thought long and hard about this one-of-a-kind man I called Father. Obviously he was larger than life to hockey fans and friends. But he was even bigger than that to me, his son, the one he called “the little guy,” even when I was 55. I idolized him for all that he was, and did my best to follow his lead. But although he was a man of strong conviction, he spoke softly and judiciously, and taught mostly by example.
Staring at the screen, I asked myself, What did I learn from my father? What did he stand for? My first thought, without hesitation, was live honorably.
Honorable: honest, moral, ethical, principled, righteous, right-minded; decent, respectable, estimable, virtuous, good, upstanding, upright, worthy, noble, fair, just, truthful, trustworthy, reliable, reputable, creditable, dependable, law-abiding.[1]
Yep, that was Dad. A man who stood up anytime a woman entered the room. Even when he was 88 years old.
Mr. Hockey stood for nothing if not for honor. Honor through loyalty, respect for self and for others, and excellence in every endeavor.
Lorne Richardson, a teammate of my father’s from King George School in Saskatoon, shared with me his account of Mr. Hockey’s gallantry. In 1946, seventeen Saskatoon boys traveled to Detroit for a tryout with the Red Wings. Upon the players’ arrival at Olympia, Jack Adams, the legendary Red Wings coach, informed them that he had some bad news: there were not enough rooms to house them all, so some would have to volunteer to sleep under the bleachers at the stadium on makeshift cots. Dad was the youngest player there but the first to volunteer.
