The prime ministers of Pii past and present and the current federal conservative leader Pierre Poilievre were among the mourners who gathered in Tignish on Wednesday for the funeral of the former deputy of Egmont Gail Shea.
Shea died on August 21 at the age of 66, leaving a large circle of family and friends on the island of the western prince Eduardo and the right in Canada.
His funeral took place in the Catholic Church St. Simon and St. Jude, with Reverend Tim Broderick celebrating Mass and Reverend Frank Quinn giving the homily. The event was broadcast live on the Facebook page of the parish.
Former Lieutenant Governor of Pei, Antoinette Perry, interpreted the organ for the service.
The funeral program listed Pailievre among 29 honorary carriers, together with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and some of the former colleagues of the Federal Cabinet of Shea. Those included Lisa Raitt, Leona Aglukkaq and Peter Mackay.
Many past and current provincial politicians attended the ceremony, including the progressive conservative prime minister Rob Lantz, former PEI Pat Binns prime minister and the current provincial transport minister Ernie Hudson, who worked closely with Shea when he was a member of Parliament.
Shea’s husband, Russell, died in 2021. They had five children: Sally, Kelly, Sandy, Holly and Shawn.
The mass of the Christian burial began at 2:30 pm, although many mounts were still aligned waiting to enter the Church.
There are no praise in the traditional Catholic funeral service, but Quinn’s homily praised Shea as a good woman and a good mother when he attributed many of the virtues praised by St. Thomas Aquinas. He said she valued truth, beauty and service, and her love for her family remained a driving force throughout her life.
“She would have loved to have had more time with you, but she realized that it was not,” Quinn told Shea’s children.
Hymns included Amazing grace; I will never forget you; Come to the water; The citation; Salve María, Gentil Woman; and How great you are.
The congregation also joined singing Or Canada before the final recommendation.
The leader of the Canada Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, was on Prince Eduardo island on Wednesday to attend the funeral of former deputy Gail Shea, who died last week at age 66. Pailievre shared some memories of Shea during a press conference at Charlottetown before funeral.
