Those of you who know me, or have read some of the things I’ve written, understand I have little faith (pun intended) in the validity of religion. I’m not troubled that people have faith, or that they profess it openly, but the inconsistencies of so many different religions all believing they are the right one make it all seem a jumbled mess.

But with that said, a wonderful woman who did hold an abiding faith passed away the other day. Theresa (Broadmeadow) Moreau was the last of her family to die. All her brothers and sisters, her husband, and her two children preceded her in death. While enduring such loss is unimaginable, she bore it as best she could.

I’ve written about her and her husband Ray Moreau before https://joebroadmeadowblog.com/2022/07/07/to-honor-love-and-cherish/. They were two of the most special people one could ever hope to meet.

So I am going to indulge a bit in the unknown and revert to a simpler time in the past when, as a young boy, I was surrounded by those of faith and taught certain things as true.

I hope if there is a heaven Theresa and Ray Moreau are dancing there with Katherine(Broadmeadow) Szpila, Rose (Broadmeadow) Alves, Ed Broadmeadow, and my father Joe Broadmeadow all laughing along. I hope they’ve continued to embrace my mother, Margaret (Campbell) Broadmeadow as one of their own.

I hope Dave and Bob Moreau are making them laugh.

I hope the drinks and the jokes are flowing. (If there is a heaven, there has to be beer!)

I hope the Hi-Lo Jack games are never ending. (And Aunt Katherine, in case you are seeing this, I still bet four as long as I have an Ace and a partner.)

I hope they can relive those Christmas parties on Red Gate Road,

I hope they have each other for an eternity.

For if there were ever two people who deserved such a destiny, it was Theresa and Ray Moreau.