End of an Era!
I have known Dermot since the early ‘80s having been a classmate of his eldest son David.
In truth, I knew Phyllis, his 1st wife better than Dermot in the early days but in latter years, I had the pleasure of getting to know him better.
And that was a privilege!
He was a most unique man who lived the motto of his school education - “Laudate peuri Dominum” which translates “Praise the Lord, ye Children”. That was the motto above the altar of the school chapel where Dermot visited so often in his school years.
And which David and I so often saw in our night prayers and Sunday Mass.
It was a Motto that I think Dermot lived for the rest of his life.
A man of faith.
A man who loved.
A man who lived his best life and who cherished and appreciated the gift of life that he was given.
To the end, a man who praised the Lord all his days.
I had the pleasure of visiting him in Jan 2022 during a brief visit to David and Debbie in Calgary. We spoke so easily of life, times gone by and our respective hopes for the future. He was SO interested in my children and what they were doing and how things were in his native Dublin.
We remembered past times, his wonderful wife Phyllis and the letter correspondence Phyllis and I had in the early ‘80s.
We spoke with great affection of the last time I met Phyllis: the day before my wedding in 1990!
And we spoke with great hope of my future visit when he moved from his then abode with Sheila outside of Calgary to a home closer to services within Calgary city.
Sadly, that visit won’t now be possible.
But I will make it back to Calgary in the future.
And hopefully I will get to meet Sheila.
And I will remember Dermot then with particular affection.
Rest in Peace Dermot, knowing that you have done exactly as our Lord would have expected - you lived life to the full!
You will be missed.
Ray O’Doherty
