Seamus had a beautiful Celebration of Life service in Burnaby Canada on 16th January, 2015. The support and the contributions made by his friends, work colleagues, soccer buddies and neighbours made this a very special and memorable day for us as a family. By the turnout on the day, it was very obvious that Seamus had certainly left his mark on Canada. 

Seamus' ashes were taken back to Ireland where he will be buried with our mother and father in Dublin.  To complete his final journey, a funeral mass will be held on Friday 17th April in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin Ireland at 10.00 a.m. for his friends and family who were unable to attend the service in Canada.

We were so blessed to have had such a loving, kind, generous  and gentle brother.  We miss him terribly but his memory will live forever in our hearts.  He will never be forgotten.  May he Rest in Peace.

Thank you to all who contributed to this Guest Book.  Your input has helped and supported us through this difficult time.

Thank you to Rev. Terry Scott and Elizabeth and the staff at Forest Lawn who certainly did a wonderful job in their delivery of Seamus' Celebration of Life service.

Carmel, Nuala and Maureen Madigan

So sad to lose one of nature's gentlemen. Shay was a lovely man, a class act. We were neighbours briefly in Toronto, and we shared the sadness over losing Ray Williams too soon. Patricia Rynehart.

I played saturday soccer with Seamus. Always a smile, always a grin. A man of compassion and class. He will be missed.

Seamus was a fine man, friendly, caring and kind.  He enjoying telling a few jokes.  We as cousins are saddened by his death and are with Carmel, Nuala and Maureen in spirit at this time.  We will always remember the Christmas Seamus was with us.  May he rest in peace.

Very sad to lose seamus. He was such a nice person,not one bad bone in his body. He was such a fit man allways walking and jogging,  I was so lucky to spend the time over in vancouver with him. Some great memories that I will never forget. We will miss you seamus.  Rest in Peace

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal"  my Beloved Uncle/Friend, there is a void in all our lives which can never be filled, you were my rock when times were bad, my partner in crime when we needed to laugh and make merry, your voice at the end of the phone was like the calming breath in my often crazy life, I am heartbroken to loose such a special man but was so lucky to have had you in my life. Your spirit of generousity and compassion will always inspire me to help others and be a better person. Miss you always. Keri, James, Cian, Killian and Emily xxxxxxxxx

I  met Seamus on his arrival in Canada.  Like Jack, I was there when he  drank his first Molson and heard him comment about how watery it was.  Many hours later it was clear that his watery comment did not hold water.  We had to hold him.
I was one of his roommates during his Toronto years.  Having room-mates has inherent conflicts for most people but over 4 or 5 years Seamus was 100% conflict free. We went together when he did the slow drive to his new home in Vancouver in 1974.  Never an unkind word was spoken by Shay about anyone.  This is a rare characteristic.

His jokes were usually far out, including terms he coined such as cross country embroidery.  My prime memory of him is of a fella laughing, sometimes at his own corny jokes but more often about a story that included the quirks of humanity

Although we met in Vancouver fairly frequently over the following decades I never met any of his horses.  He loved Vancouver affording him pass-times such as soccer into his sixties as well as horse racing.

Seamus was avery special man.  It is sad to see gone too soon.

We send our condolences to Shay's family. Though deeply shocked at his sudden passing we sustain ourselves by remembering his wit and humour and most of all his great heart. From now on whenever we raise a jar of stout we shall salute our friend, one of Erin's finest sons. Though he may have been taken from us too soon we are better for having known him. We swear that he shall never be forgotten. Seamus, you were our beloved friend as we were yours. No man was better than you. We mourn your passing. RIP, may God keep you forever.

Shay and I go back a long way! WE WERE BOTH AT BC TEL. 1979 and played soccer on many different teams, + the Wed/Soccer Groups.
In soccer, Shay took no prisoners but always played fair, he took his share of unfair tackles, but never complained!
I only saw him get angry once, for a split second!
It was a cold, wet miserable Sat P/U game, Shay did not have his head up when I hit him with a great shoulder check that landed him on his backside in a gully of cold water!  
HE jumped right up and charged towards me, I quickly said, "Are you ok Shay".
He immediately stopped and said, "Yes, Bill I am ok".
In this and in many other occasions he showed his class.
He was a real gentleman and a good friend.
We will remember and miss him.
Bill & Marthe Allen

Anne and myself were very sad to hear of Shea's passing.
He was a gentle giant of a man, full of personality and eager for everyone else to share it. Shea and myself go back to primary and secondary school in Synge St Dublin from 8 years of age. We both grew grew up in Drimnagh, and we were on the same bus to school every day. Great craic and banter. Then to UCD Mechanical Engineering , and onto Toronto - the famous "Runnymede Runnery" - where, if memory serves me right, Maureen joined us for a time.
I went back to Ireland and Shea went to BC.
We met infrequently, unfortunately, since then, but I do remember the last time we met for "lunch" in "Madigans", Talbot St with his cousin Paddy and Liam O'Clearigh. The "lunch" lasted to 10 pm !,
All the worlds problems were solved that day, with a lot of humour and a lot of joy.
That sums up Shea.
We will miss him.
Our sincere condolences to Maureen, Carmel , Nuala and the extended family.
Ar Deis De go raimh a Anam.
Sincerely,
Anne and Gerry Murray

My deepest sympathy to Maureen and Carmel and all the Madigan family.
Seamus and I have been friends for 60 years.
I have many fond memories of our boyhood days in Drimnagh and I will always remember our many hikes through the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.
Seamus, you will always be in my thoughts and prayer.

Our dear and loved uncle seamus,words cannot describe how devastated we all our with the loss of our kind, generous and thoughtful uncle, we will miss you so much. You have been and inspiration and friend to me all my life and I will miss you so much and will always cherish the great memories and laughs.May you rest in peace, love Karl, lisa,Lee, Sophie and Sean

I was deeply saddened to learn of Shay's passing. He and I were mechanical engineering classmates at UCD in the 60s. I remember him as a fun-loving, kind person, with an easy smile, a keen wit, and loads of personality. My heart goes out to the members of his family on their huge loss. May he rest in peace.

My sincerest condolences to all of Shay's family. It was a sad day when I heard of his passing. I have been a teammate of Shay's on Saturdays and Wednesdays for the past 8 years. I remember the first time I met him on a Wednesday night. He instantly treated me as a long time friend and I will always remember that. As stated by others already Shay was a true gentleman on and off the field. I will miss our on field antics and after game brew. He was without a doubt one of the good guys. I can't help but think what a better place our world would would be if there were more Shay Madigans on this planet. I know I can speak for every one of our soccer group when I say he will be truly missed and we have all appreciated knowing him. Each and every one of us we were proud to be his teammate and friend. RIP Shay
Rob Therrien

So sad to hear of Shay's untimely demise.  I knew him well when we were Engineering students together in Dublin in the mid-60s, though sadly have not seen him since.  May he rest in peace, and every condolence to his grieving family.

I knew Shay primarily from Soccer on Wednesday and Saturday's.  He always had a smile on his face and you would never know that the gentle man you drank with after soccer could be so tough on the field. I've attached a picture of Shay taken after soccer on Saturday.

Margaret and I want to add our sincere condolences to the extended Madigan family on Shay's death.  

We warmly remember getting together with him in Burnaby in March 2013 on a short trip to the Pacific North West.  He was such a lovely, gentle, kind guy.  When we left, he was heading off to bring a neighbour to the Outpatient's Department at the local hospital - that was Shay.

May his gentle soul rest in peace

Mick and Margaret Clarke

It was a terrible shock to hear of Shay's sudden passing. We played Saturday soccer together for many years until health and age slowed us down.
Seamus was an extremely friendly man with a mischievous sense of humour - the kind of person you would always want to be around. Sadly, he's left us way too soon, but with fond memories left behind.
Our sincere condolences to Shay's family.

I met Shay as an Engineering student in Dublin. I was the one who met Shay at Pearson Airport in Toronto upon his arrival in Canada and helped him adapt to weak Canadian beer. Over 40+ years our friendship grew. I never heard Shay utter a negative word about anyone. He was a kind, caring, gentle soul who put the needs of others ahead of his own. I will miss his warmth, wit and cheerfulness as well as our regular phone contact and occasional get togethers. He will be missed by many. Cheers Shay.

I will always remember Shay as a true gentleman, on and off the soccer pitch.
While playing soccer he demonstrated the essence of Saturday Soccer by his fair play (although at times he did channel the "Moose" in him). When off the field he provided a wonderful sense of friendship. Many years ago Shay brought me a shillelagh in miniature from Ireland, which I have since always had attached to my commuter bag. I'll treasure the shillelagh and his gesture dearly! 
Also, during our dinner and dances, and, after a drink or two, Shay would put together quite a jig! Lorna can attest to that!

There are so many wonderful memories  we have of him and we will miss him!

John Mancini and Lorna Court

You may be gone pal...but your awesome spirit will never die ! From all of us

So sad to hear that Shay has passed away, always a good foe or companion on the soccer field and a pleasure off of it. Condolences to family and friends, Shay will be missed.

Shay played football (soccer) every Wednesday evening with the Telus group and every weekend with the Saturday soccer legends for more years than I can remember. I was privileged to play with or against him on thousands of occasions. Shay was not only a solid and uncompromising full-back he was also a lovely gentle man, always cheerful, friendly, polite and entertaining with never a bad word about anyone and the first to lend a hand. We became good friends. One of the highlights of his football days was his outstanding contribution to the Saturday legends famous and unlikely cup victory in a 1994 over 40's summer tournament. 

Our condolences to all his family and friends. Rest in peace Shay, a friend to all who knew him.

Colin, Janet, Lucy and Duncan (Shay's godson) Hulford.

We send our sincere sympathy to Maureen and all Shay's family and friends.
Always a pleasure to be in  is company which we enjoyed immensely .R.I.P.

I was deeply saddened to find out about Shay's passing. I played soccer with him for many years and I have nothing but wonderful memories of the time we enjoyed playing the game together.
My condolences to his family.

Sincere sympathy to Maureen and all Shay's relations and friends .It was always a pleasure to meet him and enjoyed his company immensely.R.I.P.

We are so sorry that our dear friend Shay (as we called him) has now passed a way. He was an amazing friend and neighbour and we will miss him forever. 
RIP Shay your spirit will live on in the neighbourhood.

OBITUARY

Mr. Seamus Madigan

September 29, 1944 – December 24, 2014

Forest Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park

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