Today, I have the honour and privilege to offer words of remembrance for a dear colleague and wonderful friend.  I am not the only contributor.  What you will hear today is a compilation of stories and precious memories of our dear Simone being offered by the staff of St. Philip Neri.

After it was announced that I would be moving to Holy Family, people said to me, “so I hear you’re moving on…”

To which I would reply, “After nearly 13 years, the staff and parish council finally got together and organized a mutiny!”

I’m of Irish descent and a hard-core fan of the Irish rock group – U2!  I first fell in love with this mega-band in 1987 when they released the album “Joshua Tree”.

Have you ever thought about what heaven would be like?  More to the point, have you ever thought about the sort of body you will have in heaven?

In the past I have suffered with “Road Rage.”  Okay, who am I kidding? My wife has suffered because of my road rage…

Have you ever envisioned your own funeral?  What do want people say about you once you’re gone?  Your spouse?  Your children?  Your co-workers?  Your friends?

I always thought that ABBA was the apotheosis of pop music.  Apparently I am wrong – it’s Justin Bieber!

I can still hear Christy Lane's voice singing sweetly on my parent's old RCA record player. I can still smell my mother's cooking drifting from the kitchen into the living room, and with the aromas, her voice singing along with Christy, "One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you.

A family that laughs together, stays together...

Boy did we ever laugh!

On Saturday February 12th, 135 of us gathered in St. Philip's School Gym for a comedy event entitled "My Funny Valentine" with comedians Matt Falk and Victor Enns.

Two years ago, my blood pressure was consistently 150/100. I had frequent headaches, nose bleeds and if I bent over to do something with my shoes, my head felt as if it would explode!

Stephen Covey is one of my favourite authors.  I enjoy his work so much that I purchased a copy of his infamous “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” for each of my staff.