Reporters are lucky people. Because we get
to see the real, human side of people: up close and personal. While thousands
see and hear someone from afar or on television, we get to have interactions
with stars. In some cases, we even get to have dinner with them. And those are
the thoughts I am having now when I think of the passing of Paul Lorieau.
Mr. Lorieau will be known best for his
thundering renditions of O’Canada at Edmonton Oiler games. He always had time
to say hello — whether it be on the way to sing on centre ice or on his way out
of the building. When I was writing a column for the sports department of the
Edmonton Journal in 2006, I saw what class Mr. Lorieau had. I wrote my column during
the Stanley Cup playoffs from the media dining room at Rexall Place and tried
to file it at the end of the first period.
Mr. Lorieau came up for dinner after he sang
O Canada. When I was finished writing I often asked if I could join him for a
cup of coffee and piece of pie as he was finishing dinner. I have cerebral
palsy and use a wheelchair so when I approached his table I was sitting down.
Mr. Lorieau always stood up to greet me and gave me a firm but warm handshake.
We would talk about many things, especially family, before leaving the dining
room for second period action.
A true gentleman with endless class is how I
will always remember Paul Lorieau. My job as a reporter afforded me to see
that. As a person I was so lucky to have shared time with him.
2 comments:
Yes I agree Cam Paul ha beenn my neighber here at Artspace Cooperative the last few years I have been going over to watch hockey games witth him. He was a kind genous warm hearted friend who I and the rest of us here at Artspace will misss. My condolences to his wife Nancy and tthe rest of his loving family
Ken Thomas
Cam, I too will remember fondly having dinner with Paul for 10 years as a server in the media lounge. He was funny, always with a story to tell. He always had kind words for Penny and I as we often sat with him when he came in for dinner. I will miss him. Barb
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