Brodie McCarthy remembered as 'full of love and kindness' at funeral
'The more I think about it, the less comprehensible Brodie's death becomes'
Brodie McCarthy, the P.E.I. highschool student who died after a rugby accident, was remembered as "generous, caring and kind" at his funeral Monday.
"Let's remember Brodie for the guy he was," said Father Gerard Chaisson at the funeral.
"I see his great smile, which told me he was full of love and kindness.… He was a loving son and brother, sensitive to the needs of others around him."
The Grade 12 student at Montague High School in eastern P.E.I. was just weeks from graduating when he was playing in the David Voye Memorial rugby tournament in Summerside last week.
He sustained a head injury in what has been described as "a normal rugby play," though he collapsed shortly afterwards. He died in hospital in Moncton, N.B., on May 13.
"This morning we gather as a broken people," said Father Gerard Chaisson at the funeral. "The more I think about it, the less comprehensible Brodie's death becomes."
'Think of him … and the love that he shared'
He stressed to those gathered in the chapel not to fixate on why McCarthy died, but instead to "focus on the goodness in all people."
Chaisson commented on how the community has come together after McCarthy's death, and on the "loving thoughts" teammates, friends and others have shared since.
"Reflecting on his life, I couldn't help but think that Brodie himself, even in his death, gives us light in his time of darkness," he said. "Think of him. Think of what he meant to you and the love that he shared with you."
McCarthy's family chose to donate his organs, something Chaisson said McCarthy wanted after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash that killed 16 people in Saskatchewan in April.
"Even in death, Brodie continues to give of himself," said Chaisson.
Tributes, scholarship
"Certainly our community, our province and beyond have been affected by Brodie's death," said Chaisson.
On Wednesday, students at some P.E.I. high schools wore jerseys to remember McCarthy. On the same day, the World Rugby Council in Ireland paused in remembrance at the beginning of its meeting.
Donations are also being collected for a memorial scholarship in McCarthy's name.
The service was held in the chapel at the Ferguson Logan Montague Funeral Home. Hundreds of people are also watched a live stream of the service.
McCarthy was buried at St. Paul's Catholic Cemetery in Sturgeon, P.E.I.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that people consider making a donation to the Neuro-ICU at the Moncton City Hospital, or to the Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplant Program.
The P.E.I. Department of Justice and Public Safety has said the New Brunswick coroner's office is the investigating agency in the death.