Barry Hearn

Barry died on Tuesday. Throat cancer took him down.

He owned the ice cream place in town. On a warm summer evening, many in town would congregate there, enjoying the treats and catching up on the news.

I got to know him through the hockey club in town, the St. Marys Lincolns. Barry was on the committee to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary. So was I.

What I remember about him was the stories he told about the people who had come through his life. You could tell that he loved people. He rarely had anything negative to say about anyone.

Apparently the teens who worked at his ice cream shop were treated with great dignity, too. Barry was always interested in their lives.

As much as he might have loved people, you could tell that he touched many lives. I was told that the line at the afternoon visitation extended out the door of the funeral parlour. I went on the Friday night and I was in line for about half an hour. What a testament to his life! I can only hope that my life will be as significant to those around me.