Death
At a Flying Fathers game in Kincardine in 2002, Costello was hit in the head by a puck, falling back and hitting his head on the ice. Still feeling unwell the following day, he was admitted to hospital, where he slipped into a coma and died a week later on December 10.
As his parish was unable to accommodate the crowds expected for his funeral, the service was held in Timmins' McIntyre Arena. Thousands from all over the country are reputed to have been at the funeral. Even Timmins native Shania Twain issued a statement of tribute to Costello:
| “ | Father Costello has been there for my family many times over the years. Whether it was to find my grandmother a second-hand fridge; marry my parents; give our family funeral services – including our beloved Mom and Dad; or just plain joining in on a good joke. He's always quick to smile and share his zest for life. The goodness of God is with this very special man and he shares that spirit with everyone around him. We all love him. | ” |
Writer and politician Charlie Angus published a biography of Costello, Les Costello: Canada's Flying Father, in 2005. A foundation to raise funds for food banks, homeless shelters and other anti-poverty charities in Northern Ontario was also launched in Costello's memory the same year. As well, a major street in the city's Schumacher neighbourhood was renamed Father Costello Drive.
Read more about this topic: Les Costello
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“AIDS was ... an illness in stages, a very long flight of steps that led assuredly to death, but whose every step represented a unique apprenticeship. It was a disease that gave death time to live and its victims time to die, time to discover time, and in the end to discover life.”
—Hervé Guibert (1955–1991)
“To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;
To forgive wrongs darker than Death or Night;
To defy Power, which seems Omnipotent;
To love, and bear; to hope, till Hope creates
From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;
Neither to change nor falter nor repent;
This, like thy glory, Titan! is to be
Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;
This is alone Life, Joy, Empire and Victory.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
“Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,
In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and Earth
Rose out of Chaos:”
—John Milton (1608–1674)