Don playing drums at the farm.  He was so musical -- he could pick up any instrument and play it.

Father Hamel, was a large part of The Saint Gabriel Staff, he joined in at all of our parties in town and even invited everyone out to his home on the lake. We had a great old time with lots of laughs. I can see now his prayer bench in his home, it showed his commitment to God with daily prayers. We will be saying one for him now "Safe travels Father  Bless you for your service. Chuck and Faye Hallberg Biggar Sask.

We were blessed to have been married by Father Don in 2011 who gave us the most grace filled start to our life together. If he had not been the wonderful priest that he was our lives together would not have come about. Divine Providence worked through him to unite us in marriage and to this day we are forever grateful to Father Don for being the instrument of God's will in our lives. 
All our love Father Don, Claudette Cadrin and Lou Curti

My wife, Karen & I were married by Fr Hamel on October 22,1977, just a few months after he was ordained. It was a time when mixed marriages (I was baptized in the United faith) were not encouraged. Fr Hamel was  both honest & understanding. He navigated the waters with respect, grace  and even a sense of humour. May he rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. 
Bob & Karen Harris 

I always believe that it is not how long you live that matters the most but how you lived and loved.
Fr. Don, you have been a good friend to us, and loved our kids too. You blessed our home and even gave your baby grand piano to Ryssa and Tantan. You inspired Tantan to really learn and be a good pianist so he can play at your mass. Unfortunately, you already retired when he became good. You even graced us with your presence when Ruel's parents visited us in Saskatoon, and you became friends with them right away. I still remember how you loved our shrimp lemon soup (sinigang) and asked for our secret recipe - sinigang mix. We really felt so sad not being able to visit you these past 2 years because of COVID and hearing the news of your passing really breaks our hearts. I know that you are in a much better place now. We are sure that Ruel's parents will greet and welcome you there as well!  Your kindness, friendliness, and generosity will always be remembered. Rest well, Fr. Don and may God's perpetual light shine upon you.
Love,
Marissa, Ruel, Ryssa, Tantan

Fr.Don, it's hard to believe the time for our final goodbye has come this soon. Today we mourn the loss of a friend, a kind soul, and an important member of our family. Christmases, Thanksgivings and birthdays are never going to be the same without you. Spending every great occasion with you at your cottage, playing Tile rummy well into the next morning until we start hearing your quiet snores, grilling up Steaks in the middle of the night, these were things unaccustomed to me before moving to Canada and yet over the past 10 years had become traditions in our family. 


Birthday dinners, beautifully worded Christmas cards, your perfect singing voice, meaningful sermons, your love for animals, that ever glowing smile and contagious laughter, these are some of the countless things I'll miss about you, but also will be some of the countless memories I will cherish when I think about you.


Some of my best memories I have since moving to Canada has been the times I have spent with you. From our time playing board games for 12 hours straight at Denise's place, my first boat ride, and joining the choir for the first time, to making some of my longest lasting relationships in the Marchildon and Alarcon families, every moment with you had a lasting impact in my life. I am today a better person because I had you in it. I will forever be grateful for your love and kindness, and can only hope I can share the same with others in my life. 


Thank you for everything. Rest in peace dear friend. 

Dear Denise and family,  I was so sorry to hear of the death of your beloved brother Don.  Thinking of you and wishing for you that the lovely musical memories you shared with your brother bring you comfort.   Much love, Edith 

Fr Don Hamel was a huge blessing to me. He was my priest when I attended St Paul’s cathedral in Saskatoon (now called St Pauls co-cathedral). I went to him for spiritual counselling and he was the best counsellor a person could wish for - he knew how to challenge you and ground you in the Catholic Faith. I also had the privilege of hosting him and he also married me. God bless him. I can still remember his parrots taking apart his pens at one of our meetings. He just allowed them to do it and had a great love for them. May he Rest In Peace and May the perpetual light shine upon him. 

Fr. Don, you have been a great friend to our family. You are a very kind, caring person. You have taught us a lot of things in gardening through your love and passion for it. We cherish all the get together we had at your cabin picking cherries, going boating and making food.
We are going to miss you dearly. May you rest in peace.
                                                                                       
 

I will always remember our late nights among friends sharing stories, jokes, wine, capers, and cheese. They are moments I will always cherish.  Especially when you introduced me to blue cheese for the first time ever. You handed me the biggest chunk and only told me the taste was funky after I had the whole piece in my mouth.  We laughed at my face for the rest of the night. 
I will miss you. Thank you for everything. 


We, the family of Aathmeeya Roshan in India, offer our condolences to the family of our beloved Fr.Don.  We've heard much about his goodness, his gentle & noble soul that had been a haven for many, especially for Roshan as he arrived in Canada and later on for Aathmeeya. We thank God for his life.
We were looking forward to hearing more about gardening tips from him, this summer.  But God had different plans. He needed Fr.Don to adorn His garden. 


Father Don was always such a welcome addition to our family get togethers. We were so grateful to have known him and experienced his kindness, humility, and faithfulness. He will be greatly missed by all of us. 

Fr. Don, you were one of the kindest person I’ve ever known. Never to say no and always so encouraging. I’m not sure how I would have coped moving to Canada and calling Saskatoon my home without you. When I first met you 16+ years ago, I had no idea that we would become such close friends. You unofficially adopted me as your son and I saw you as my father figure in Canada. You taught me everything about life here, bacon and cheese included (I had never eaten bacon or cheese before coming to Canada). You welcomed my naiveness with laughter and taught me so much. You welcomed all my new friends with open arms every weekend (sometimes multiple times a week) for dinner. You even let me borrow money from you for my first car, second car, my first house and even my company Biktrix. You introduced me to so many people who became my lifelong friends like Ray Marchildon and Lisa Marchildon. There is so much for me to thank you for and when I did, you used to just brush it off as if it wasn’t a big deal. You taught me to drive, and to enjoy travelling. I much cherished our cross Canada drive (albeit we realized that we drove across the country in an unregistered car), our trip to India, travels to Berkeley and much much more.  You introduced me to your sweet sisters who are much like family to us. I’m so heartbroken to think that you left us to be in a better place. I will forever cherish all our memories and will always miss you. I wish that our plans of you moving in with my family came to fruition this summer. But God’s plans for you was different. You’re in his kingdom with your parents and your late siblings. Rest In Peace my dear friend. Thank you for teaching me how be kind and selfless. 

Every spring, we looked forward to our annual Greenhouse hopping in May, loading our vehicles with more flowers and plants then it could hold!  Also at this time, we would celebrate the 3 May Birthdays, Lorraine on the 17th, Denise on the 21st and brother Don on the 25th.  It was always such a wonderful get together with many laughs and great times!!’ 
We will forever miss you Brother 

Don also loved shopping especially if he got a real bargain, 2 bucks! Visiting him in Berkeley California while he was on on Sabbatical leave, we would go shopping everyday at the Ross stores looking for bargains & every evening we presented a fashion show of our new attire.
Don took us touring one afternoon and stopped at this huge, white high class hotel.  He said “The President stays here.” Don beckoned us to go check it out even though we were dressed in our casual clothes. We discovered a very high class event was happening & Don’s eye immediately caught sight of a banquet table full of all sorts of food, which he couldn’t resist sampling! Denise & I urged him to leave.  His comment was “ Just pretend you are rich!”  Then he encouraged us to get in the elevator and check out a few floors where we tested different lotions and things!  We did get a few dirty looks!!!!

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Fr. Donald Francis Hamel

25 mai 1950 – 17 avril 2022

Mourning Glory Funeral Services

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