Friday, December 7, 2018
Originally 7, our Owen School fraternity is sadly down to 5 brothers. Our unique bond, which defines friendship, to the core, has been around for 44 years. Yesterday, we lost our dear sweet brother, Mark Heeler after his incredible battle with cancer. It’s like losing a piece of our hearts. Mark was a life force! He traveled the world, ate interesting foods, experienced different careers, challenged himself with incredible athletic tasks and demonstrated how to live life with an unparalleled enthusiasm and to the fullest. Mark knew the gift we had, the privilege to be able to make each and every day an adventure. Marky, You have always been a marvel to me. You’ve been my example of strength and refusal to let things bring the human spirit down. I’ve always revered your intensity, discipline and dedication to whatever you do. It’s a very uncommon thing and you were and still are such a role model in so many ways. You are a winner! You are the stuff of which professional athletes are made. The way you owned diabetes and didn’t allow it to own you. Wow. You engaged in serious athletic challenges and grabbed life by the throat to make your own path of adventure and fueled it with your passion and love. You have always set the bar for yourself to be tremendously high in whatever endeavor you choose. The way you lived your life, creating amazing opportunities for yourself and your family-taking advantage of all life has to offer, has always been and is a shining example for us all. You have always taught me so much about myself. Your insight into other people’s situations always provides such a light on a new/fresh perspective. Your deep caring and concern for friends and our challenges is such a love that none of us ever take for granted. When we were very little and I was at your home and you were describing the relationship between your dad and his best friend. You said “wouldn’t it be great if we were friends when we are 40?”. A foreshadowing of what was to come. How does one describe or understand the bond and fraternity the 7 Owen School Boys have? I remember my dad saying he’d never seen anything like it. So many have repeated this sentiment. What is it about our brotherhood which makes it what it is- the intangible, the indescribable, the unconditional love and support for each other. A few months ago you wrote me saying that the hardest times you ever laughed were with me. You knew how much that meant to me which is why you shared it with me. You were always so damn generous. Thank you. Such a beautiful moment when we hugged 2 weeks ago and we said “I love you”. See, there’s the magic of the Owen School Boys brotherhood. When we are together, we are totally exposed. Genuine. We know we won’t judge each other but rather, provide insight, compassion and new perspectives for each other. We have always been the most “real” and raw when the gang is together. No bravado or foolish pride. Just us being who we are surrounded in comfort. From Kindergarten to Oliver to a Montreal school trip to our UK rugby tour to university to weddings to the many annual boys weekends and all the love in between, none of us ever waiver in our deep love and recognition of the importance of our brotherhood. We were and are blessed.
Thank you for helping me see clearly at times when my vision was blurred. Thank you for making me laugh so hard that I couldn’t stand. Thank you for your positivity when I was down. Thank you for always taking the time to care. You were the strongest person I knew. You are such an inspiration to me and so many others Marky. We talked about your legacy and it’s so obvious to me my dear brother....live life with passion and action! Do it all baby! Go for it!
We love you Marky, from all your boys. RIP
We send our strength, hugs and deepest condolences to Lynette, Evan and Ella.
