LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM KELLY
Below is the speech that I was honoured to give at Kelly's Celebration of LIfe. I hope it provides everyone with an idea of what kind of a person he was and how fortunate I feel to have been able to call him my friend.
KELLY PEARCE CELEBRATION OF LIFE SPEECH
* I met Kelly in High School. We were in a couple of classes together. Fortunately I had good marks in those classes as I think many of you know Kelly did not suffer fools. One of my favourites was auto shop that we took together. Often worked on things that were a bit more challenging than other students. Kelly was better at this class than I was.
* I remember Kelly had lived in the States as his father had been posted to Washington, DC. He was a good basketball player and at many schools would have made the basketball team, unfortunately our school was the top ranked school in the country and had a couple of players who went on to lead the University of Victoria to 5 straight national championships. Kelly, like a lot of good bb players at our school, could only cheer the team on.
* I also remember Kelly being in Reserves but did not think much of it at first because I was a long haired civilian who could not imagine cutting my hair to join the military. Of course that changed in the summer following High School graduation when I saw an ad for Communication Reserves in the paper. I figured I would give it a go for the summer then quit so I could grow my hair long to fit in at university. Although I did not see Kelly my first summer in Reserves (he was in Egypt on a call out at the time) I did enjoy my summer and opted to stay in the Reserves.
* Kelly eventually came back from his time in Egypt and we did many exercises together as part of 748 CommunicationsTroop. For those of you who did not know Kelly during this part of his life I can assure you that he was an outstanding radio and teletype operator. I was not nearly as technically proficient at military skills as Kelly was but I did at this time learn my first valuable lesson from Kelly. I learned that I did not have to be the best at something, I simply had to surround myself with the Kelly Pearce’s of the world and be smart enough to capitalize on their expertise. I continue to use this skill today thanks to Kelly
* Kelly left to join the Regular Force while I was still in Reserves but I would still see him regularly when he was posted to Holberg (northern tip of Vancouver Island) and would come home to Nanaimo regularly.
* I also visited Kelly when he was posted to the Tac Hel Sqn in Edmonton. I think it was a posting he really enjoyed. I did not see as much of Kelly during his time in Kingston as I was by this time in Victoria starting my career in the Navy.
* I do remember Kelly telling me about meeting a wonderful lady at the restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Kingston. She was apparently reading by herself at a table and Kelly made a comment about the book as he had read it previously. They struck up a conversation and as they say the rest is history. Kelly at this time was on Standby to go to the Middle East for Gulf War 1. They had time for all of three dates before Kelly deployed. Of course Kelly being the die-hard romantic that he was in no time at all he was proposing over the phone from the Persian Gulf. Cathy of course being the shrewd woman that she is waited to review the offer in writing.
* The time eventually came where Kelly had to choose between the military and the woman he loved and of course it was an easy choice. Those of us who knew Kelly know he loved the military but clearly he loved Cathy far more.
* Kelly went on to Durham College in Oshawa and received a Certificate in Business Operations Management in Jun 95. He got a job with Bombardier as a Work and Materiel Planner but as we all know the company has had its struggles and Kelly was eventually laid off. Kelly later went to work for Goodrich Aerospace specializing in making landing gear for aircraft.
* By this time Kelly and Cathy were living in Oshawa and while I was teaching a course in Borden (Barrie) I went to visit them. Zuni, their beloved dog, appeared to take an immediate shine to me and followed me all over the house. Cathy also seemed to like me but fortunately did not feel compelled to follow me all over the house.
* When I introduced my wife, Roseann, to Kelly she remarked on how welcoming he was to her and how pleased she was that someone from my past who she had just met made her feel like she had been with me forever. One of the things that I loved best about Kelly was that it did not matter what had gone on in your own life i.e. where you chose to live, what employment you chose, etc. if you were his friend you were his friend for life and nothing you did could change that. Loyalty like that is something to be truly admired. I have tried to adopt that philosophy within my own life as well. Thanks Kelly.
* I have been fortunate throughout my military career and was able achieve a fair degree of success. I think we all know people that are sometimes envious of their friend’s successes. I have to say that Kelly was the exact opposite. He was always as thrilled about any success that I achieved as I was myself. I have always appreciated that about him as having him celebrate an achievement with me made it that much sweeter. Once again I try to emulate that in my own life and celebrate the successes of my friends with the same degree of enthusiasm that I would celebrate my own successes. Thanks Kelly
* We came down to visit Kelly in Oct of last year. I was at that time, like everyone else in this room I am sure, concerned but hoping for the best knowing that Kelly was a fighter. What I remember most about that visit was that there was a brief period where Cathy and Roseann had gone to one of the lounges in the hospital and I was alone with Kelly. During this time he immediately voiced his concern for Cathy if anything were to happen to him. I was touched by his selflessness. Even though he was obviously in pain and knew the struggle he faced he was able to put that aside and think about others ahead of himself. It is something we should all aspire to do if ever faced with similar situations. Thanks Kelly
* Cathy kept us regularly updated on Kelly’s condition and I know that he fought the good fight right up until the end. He is at peace now and pain free and for that we can all be grateful. I will miss our long phone conversations about any number of wide ranging topics and I won’t be able to sit in the Coco Berry Café, a place we often go for breakfast when staying at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, without picturing Kelly strolling in with his Tilley hat and backpack looking so happy to see us. As I said on Facebook the day Kelly passed, in the words of Charlie Puth “It’s been a long day without you my friend, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.” Rest in Peace Kelly. You will not be forgotten.