Hundreds of family, friends and admirers convened downtown for the final farewell to hockey legend Jean Beliveau Wednesday, as the funeral for the well-loved hockey icon attracted a large crowd of notables, including many from the worlds of hockey and politics.
The tributes flowed in a series of eulogies.
“As a great star he had a great responsibility, he knew, not to live as a star but to live as a good person. He was a true all time hockey great, an ambassador extraordinaire for all he believed in, yet Jean’s greatest achievement was that he was a very nice man. This is not a time to say goodbye. This is a time to say thank you,” said former teammate Ken Dryden.
Former teammate Serge Savard told of how he sat transfixed to his radio as a child in Abitibi listening to Beliveau's accomplishments before becoming a teammate. "The Rocket (Maurice Richard) is sitting at the table of honour of our national legends and he’s inviting you to pull up a seat and sit beside him," said Savard.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Gov. Gen. David Johnston and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard were among the hundreds who braved the blustery snow to attend the services.
"He was an individual who was great in his sport but ultimately (he was) even greater than his sport," Harper said.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, former Prime Ministers Jean Chretien and Brian Mulroney, former Premiers Lucien Bouchard and Jean Charest and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre were also in attendance.
"What I took away from his life was that you always have to respect others, everyone is important, and what you do to others comes back to you. He is my definition of a captain," said Coderre.
Former Canadiens players and brass also came in large numbers including Mario Tremblay, Steve Begin, Jean Perron, Ronald Corey, Jacques Lemaire, Irving Grundman, Vincent Damphousse, Ken Dryden, Claude Ruel, Alain Vigneault, Lucien Bouchard, Guy Lapointe, Matthieu Schneider, Dickie Moore and Rejean Houle. Former Leafs' GM John Ferguson Jr., and Ville Emard-native Mario Lemieux were also in attendance.
All of the players from the Canadiens' current roster were also in attendance after arriving together in a bus that left the Bell Centre at about 1:30 p.m.
"This is a bigger deal than Montreal. It's not just Quebec, it's not just Canada, this is worldwide. He touched everybody. Whether it's hockey fans or just citizens he gave everyone the same amount of respect and I think that's why this is such an important day for everybody," said forward Max Pacioretty.
About 200 seats were set aside for the public on a first-come basis while many others unable to get inside watched the proceedings on a large screen set up outside of the cathedral.
His funeral began at 2 p.m. ET at Mary Queen of the World cathedral and was presided over by the Archbishop of Montreal, Christian Lepine.
Former players Yvan Cournoyer, Phil Goyette, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Rousseau, Serge Savard and Jean-Guy Talbot served as pallbearers.
Team owner Geoff Molson, along with former Beliveau teammates Serge Savard, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden and Dickie Moore, delivered eulogies.
"What would you rather be, good or lucky? I was lucky, he was good. He’s a man I will always look up to, I’m only 5'10," Moore said.
The funeral procession left the Bell Centre at 1 p.m. ET. Thousands of people quietly filed into the arena on Sunday and Monday to pay their respects to Beliveau and shake hands with his wife, Elise.
Montreal police, who have been wearing camouflage pants and red ballcaps in recent months to protest pension plan reforms, wore their regulation uniforms today out of respect for Beliveau.
Beliveau won the Stanley Cup 10 times as a player and seven more as a team executive. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame the year after his retirement in 1971.
-With files from The Canadian Press
