MEDIA, Pennsylvania — John and Matthew Gaudreau were remembered at their tearful funeral Monday as loving brothers and husbands who put family first, above hockey and everything else. A week and a half after their deaths, they were struck by a suspected drunk driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as inseparable throughout their lives. John was 31 and Matthew was 29.
“Everything always revolved around John and Matty,” said Meredith, John’s wife, who revealed she was pregnant with the couple’s third child. “I know John couldn’t have lived a day without his brother.”
Buses brought players and others to St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church and hundreds of people turned out for the service, including several children in Gaudreau jerseys bearing the No. 13 worn by the NHL player known to fans as “Johnny Hockey.” Among those in attendance were Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens teammate Cole Caufield, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and longtime executive Brian Burke.
“It just shows the true honor and respect that everyone has given them. I just can’t imagine what they’re going through,” said Caufield, who will wear No. 13 in honor of John Gaudreau. “Just the amount of people that are here today and yesterday, just anything we can do to help.”
In her 30-minute eulogy, Meredith Gaudreau paid tribute to two of John’s closest friends, Sean Monahan and Kevin Hayes.
“You made him the man I fell in love with,” she said. “He looked up to you both on and off the ice. You were his brothers, which means you are my brothers too.”
John, an all-star with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, who played college hockey with his brother at Boston College a decade ago, died on the eve of their sister’s wedding.
The Rev. Tony Penna, director of campus ministry at Boston College, asked those in attendance at the church to look around and see how many people had made the trip to the Philadelphia suburbs to pay their respects to their loved ones, calling it a source of comfort for parents Guy and Jane.
“By the overwhelming attendance and overwhelming numbers of people here today, they are sending you the message loud and clear that John and Matthew’s lives mattered, that they were noticed on this earth, that they were loved and valued on this earth,” Penna said. “This powerful crowd wants you to know that they are here to tell all of you that they love you too, that they have your back, and that they are here to support you in our loss.”
The Gaudreau brothers were riding their bikes on a road in Oldmans Township around 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind, according to New Jersey State Police. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, who faces two counts of negligent homicide, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, was detained pending his hearing on Friday.
“I urge everyone not to drink and drive,” said Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s wife. “Find a ride. Please don’t subject another family to this ordeal.”
A GoFundMe campaign to support Madeline, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, has surpassed $645,000, with nearly 9,000 people donating, including many NHL players and their families.
Mourning for John and Matthew is taking place across the sports world, including in Columbus, Ohio, where Gaudreau signed a free-agent contract with the Blue Jackets for 2022 despite other teams, including the New Jersey Devils, receiving more lucrative free-agent offers. Blue Jackets fans and players gathered for an emotional candlelight vigil last week, and a similar gathering was held in Calgary.
The brothers’ lives have been celebrated on social media since their deaths. Katie Gaudreau, the little sister who was due to be married the day after the brothers’ deaths, posted pictures of her family in happier times.
Over the weekend, it was an Instagram video captioned “Birds for the Gaudreau boys” over a clip of John Gaudreau unzipping his winter coat to reveal an Eagles jersey as he goes through security before an NHL game. She also posted a tribute to a family slideshow titled “This day,” in which she wrote that she would “do anything to tell my big brothers I love them one more time.”
