More than 500 people attended a celebration of life at Brennan Park Monday (Aug. 16) to say goodbye to Daniel Savage, a beloved young man with a permanent smile and dreams of a career in sports.
Savage died Aug. 3, in the early morning of his 17th birthday after falling down a 30-foot gravel pit in the Garibaldi Highlands.
An honours student at Howe Sound Secondary, he is said to have loved life, and particularly sports. He played soccer and baseball, but hockey was his passion, and his determination made him a star on the Squamish rep team, The Eagles.
"I am very proud to be his dad," said his father, Paul Savage, to a packed auditorium full of attendees many of whom wore sports jerseys in honour of the young man's passion for sports.
Daniel's mother, Jutta Savage, couldn't bring herself to speak during the celebration, but along with his sisters, Candice and Melanie, told mourners about their loving brother and son in pre-recorded messages.
"This is the saddest and hardest time of my life," said Jutta. "The 16 years I had with you son are the best loved years a mom could ask for. I have and will cherish every second we had together for the rest of my years. I love you with all my heart son, and not one day will go by without thoughts of you."
"A value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive, and in one word Daniel was a man who gave," said his uncle Mike Urban.
"Here was a life that exemplified brilliance, a life that inspired emulation, a life that burned bright so that other paths were lit. What an exceptional human being, He made us smile, he made us laugh, he has made us cry his song has ended but his melody lives on."
Jutta's best friend, Kim Barett, had known Savage since birth and said he was close to his whole family, and always showed his love for his mom.
"He was an incredible and loving person," she said, "and he loved his mom so much."
Barett said the memorial depicted the young man as exactly what he was: "An amazing, incredible, funny and giving person who would do anything for anyone and was always ready for a good laugh."
Daniel dreamed of becoming a sports broadcaster or journalist and commentating on his favourite teams, the Vancouver Canucks, the B.C. Lions and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Savage wore number 16 for one of his heroes, Vancouver Canuck Trevor Linden, and the memorial was held on Aug. 16 for that same reason.
Canucks captain Trevor Linden was made aware of Savage's admiration and wrote a letter to the family expressing his condolences, which was read out at the Brennan Park memorial.
"Clearly Dan had a huge impact on his family and friends," wrote Linden, adding he thought they would have had a lot in common.
"He was an outstanding young man with a very bright future. The very fact that I might have had some small part in shaping the way Dan lived his life is very meaningful to me.
"It's actually more meaningful than Stanley cups, individual trophies or jerseys. For this at the end of the day is maybe the most important reason that I play in national hockey."
Linden wasn't the only one to write. A wall at Brennan Park was adorned with more than a dozen condolence letters from hockey teams from various leagues, including the Canucks, the Vancouver Giants, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Quiet weeping could be heard throughout the room as those who sat and bid their final farewell were reminded of the young man's love of life, sense of humour and determination to succeed at whatever he did.
After the ceremony, hundreds of jersey-clad friends and family placed a Gerber daisy on the casket, hugged the family, and received a commemorative puck with Dan's photo and the number 16 on it.
"It's been a long two weeks, but the healing started and hopefully each day will get a little bit easier," said Barrett. "He wouldn't want anyone to be crying, he'd want everyone to be smiling."
The Squamish Rotary Club is creating the Dan Savage Memorial Scholarship to remember the young man in future talented, bright Howe Sound Secondary graduates.
