Dear friends,
Already a year since we lost Kevin… So many of you joined us last March to do something special in his honour and this helped us all tremendously. It also allowed us to do something special in his name for Starlight children. A Fun Center will be placed at the Montreal Children’s Hospital shortly bearing his name.
Join us again this year to celebrate a life that touched so many in so many ways. Participate in the 1st Annual Kevin McPhie Friendship Day 2009.
This wonderful fun filled family event will be held on March 29th from 12 to 2:30PM at Pierrefonds 4 Glaces (14700 Pierrefonds Blvd.) and will feature games for children with Stretch the Clown and various fundraising activities including an auction, to add to Kevin’s fund at Starlight. The Kevin McPhie Memorial Hockey League will also play allowing for great hockey excitement at the arena! A must see!
Last year, this web page created in honour of Kevin brought friends and family together to write and post photos to remember our dear Kevin. We invite you to continue posting your messages and supporting Starlight as the cause close to Kevin’s heart.
I hope you will all be able to join us at the arena on March 29th to have fun and continue sharing our stories of Kevin.
Thank you for your continued support,
Jose, Amanda and Kara
March 2008
Kevin McPhie was my best friend, my husband, and the best daddy ever!
Kevin and I first met 26 years ago in high school but only began dating 17 years ago, became inseparable and that was the beginning of our wonderful relationship. We bought our house 14 years ago and actually, Kevin saw it, made an offer, and then asked me to sign the papers before I had even seen the house! We always laughed about that story. You see, Kevin and I always had a story, every purchase we made, every trip we took, every holiday we spent together came with a story…
When moving into our new house Kevin claimed the garage to be his domain, which is referred to today as “35A”. I cannot forget to mention Jesse and Balou, our 2 Rottweilers who were a big part of our life and who ran the house before the kids came along. I can still see Kevin driving his T-bird, with the roof off and Jesse sitting right beside him. .After dating for seven years Kevin finally proposed, on St Patrick’s Day of course, and we were now planning our wedding. We got married on Thanksgiving weekend and he would always joke that I married a turkey! Of course we had an Italian wedding, but not because I am Italian, but because the hall had an open bar (unlimited drinks) for only $10.00 more per person, Kevin thought this was great! Soon after we had our 1st born, Amanda Maria McPhie, and then two years later we had our 2nd born Kara Louise McPhie.
Kevin became the proudest father and now spent every free moment with, as he would say, “with his three girls “. Amanda & Kara were the twinkle in his eyes; he was just as excited as them on Christmas morning, had just as much fun as them while playing any game and was so touched to be able to share their every new experience. He always encouraged them in anything they wanted to do and loved to sit and watch them do it. There are so many stories that can be told about Kevin, too many to mention, but we always had a good laugh with family and friends. He was always joking around, telling funny jokes, playing tricks on everyone, with that smirk on his face, and his famous chuckle.
He was a very simple person with a huge heart, always ready to lend a helping hand. Most of his clients became good friends, his reputation was golden, just like his word. Kevin was the friendliest person I have ever known and everywhere we went we would run into someone he knew, whether it was at Reno Depot or on vacation in Cuba. He knew the mailman on a first name basis, who even came to visit us on the weekend! The phone at home would constantly ring off the hook, and there would always be someone dropping by. Every one was always welcome at our house and he loved to have friends and family over, especially in the summer around the BBQ and the pool. As most people know, if the garage door was open, Kevin was home, hanging around, renovating something, or shining his bike with the radio on playing his favorite tunes and the fridge filled with beer. I would often come home to find the kids playing outside and Kevin and our neighbor John sitting in front of the house having a beer. He would often say, “This is the life!” He woke up every morning so happy and would start his day by walking the kids to the bus stop, then start his day of work until he came home at night, with the sound of the car door closing and the car alarm ring, open up the door, run upstairs to come say goodnight to the kids, which they waited for him almost every night.
Amanda, Kara, and I desperately miss him, the house is quiet now, and the magic is gone. We sit and remember him every night before bed with a funny story and hope to dream of him. He will never be forgotten, I will speak of him always, he was everything to me and there will never be another…
- Always & forever, love Jo xoxo
“How YOU doin!?”
Picture his face saying it. Now REALLY picture him. You are smiling aren’t you? We all have a different memory when we think of him, but that’s what comes into my mind when I think of my friend, OUR friend, Kevin McPhie. There are so many ways that one could describe his short yet full life. The lives he has touched, the laughter he has imparted upon us over the years, and the craziness that he made part of our days.
Each one of us will have the opportunity on this page to keep Kevin’s memory alive. As Executive Director of Starlight, I am BEYOND touched that Jose, Amanda, Kara and the entire McPhie/Barbieri family have selected Starlight to be the recipient of this tribute to Kevin’s life. On a personal note, it is important to me because of all people that both knew and understood the two sides of me, it was Kevin that not only understood it, but embraced the wild side to me. He never looked at it as an oxymoron that I was so passionate about Starlight, yet still had a wild streak in me. He understood and dare I say even brought out more of that craziness. There was never a judgment, never a comment, simply a chuckle, a shaking of the head at some of the zaniness and every so often a little “atta boy, good for you.”
Kevin had so many passions in life, yet above all there was family; His friendship with his brothers-in-law Mike, Jamie and Zack. His “brother” Derek, his sisters-in-law Tina, Chantal and Sue. His respect and devotion to Mr. and Mrs. Barbieri. His love and loyalty to his mother Jackie, his love and friendship with his father Ian. His passion and admiration for his wife Jose, and above all, his unbridled love for his daughters, Amanda and Kara.
I invite you all to add, whenever you like, a comment to this page. I ask you to share with all of us the memories that come to you in the days and years ahead, about what made Kevin such an important part of so many people lives. I remember speaking about death with Kevin and we both agreed when it was our time to go, it had better be a hell of a party we leave behind. As you do write about Kevin, remember above all he would want us to remember him with Joy; remember the joy he had for life, that million dollar smile, and that grin at the end of his “how YOU doin”...
- Brian Bringolf
