MEDIA, Pa. — Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were remembered for their dedication to family and the unbreakable bond between them when family, friends and teammates gathered to say a tearful goodbye to the hockey-playing brothers at St. Mary Magdalen Church on Monday.
Johnny and Matthew died Aug. 29 when they were struck by a car while riding bicycles at home in Salem County, New Jersey. Johnny, who played 11 seasons in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, was 31. Matthew, who played professionally for five seasons in the American Hockey League, ECHL and Sweden, was 29.
“Everything was always John and Matty,” Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny’ wife, said in her eulogy. “Matty was the best, the best brother to John. He was John’s biggest fan and John was his. Matty wanted everything for John, and all John wanted to do was share it with his brother and they did.
“Matty was the perfect brother. … I know John would not be able to live a day without his brother. He loved him so much.”
Johnny and Matthew were to serve as groomsmen at the wedding of their sister, Katie, on Aug. 30. That ceremony was postponed, and the family has been in mourning since then.
The Blue Jackets and Flames held candlelight vigils attended by thousands of fans in their respective cities on Wednesday. Gaudreau family members attended a memorial that was open to the public Friday at Gloucester Catholic, the New Jersey high school where Johnny was coached by his father Guy, and Matthew coached the past two seasons.
A private viewing for close relatives and friends was held in Broomall, Pennsylvania, on Sunday preceding the mass of Christian burial Monday.
“This last week has felt like I’m trapped in a nightmare I can’t wake up from,” Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s wife, said her eulogy. “I feel numb, angry, sad, blessed all at once. Some days the thought of this new reality is debilitating, but mostly I just miss Matt.”
