Family and friends of John Tuckwell, one of the first Albertans to be granted the right to physician-assisted death, celebrated his life on Sunday.
Hundreds of people filled the Royal Glenora Club Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to their son, brother, cousin, colleague — even their childhood classmate.
Tuckwell died July 27 after a four-year battle with the terminal neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
“I used to worry that we would keep John here longer than he would have wanted to stay and dreaded the day we would have to say goodbye and let him go,” said Doug Weir, a close friend of Tuckwell since grade school. “But I stopped worrying about that because I realized that’s exactly why he had stayed.”
‘He was a warrior. He was a wonderful example of how to do it all with tremendous gusto and with dignity.’ – Peter Charron
Tuckwell, whose condition began to deteriorate rapidly in the spring, was concerned the federal legislation on physician-assisted death wouldn’t be passed by the time he needed it. He took took his case to Alberta’s Court of the Queen’s Bench and won a decision to have a doctor administer a drug to end his life when he was ready.
But Tuckwell died naturally, after he began to asphyxiate.
Family holds memorial for Edmonton right-to-die advocate John Tuckwell1:32
Tuckwell had a form of ALS called bulbar limbus, which paralyzed him from the top down. He first lost his ability to speak — integral to his job in communications with the provincial government — but he found ways to convey his thoughts. He typed what he wanted to say onto his iPad, which played his sentences out through a speaker.
“He was still able to communicate with people with his hands. It was getting harder, but he was still able to do that and that’s what kept him here,” explained his sister, Cathy Tuckwell. “He was still able to engage with all his friends.”
‘A warrior’
Cathy Tuckwell, who lives in Toronto, had been staying with her brother. She said seeing the community that he was a part of in Edmonton was powerful for the family.
“I want to thank everybody for coming today. We’re very impressed by the numbers. We thought he was a bit of a lone wolf,” joked Tuckwell’s father, Paul Tuckwell, prompting laughter from the emotional crowd.
That’s likely because Tuckwell, who always had his dog, Bruno, by his side, was very much the opposite.
‘He just had a way of knowing when someone really needed something, and he was there.’ – Vanda Killeen
His former colleague, Vanda Killeen, summed up Tuckwell’s intuitive compassion.
“He just had a way of knowing when someone really needed something, and he was there,” she said.
Tuckwell’s tenacity inspired those who knew him on a daily basis. His cousin, Peter Charron, said it was especially evident in the courage Tuckwell showed during his fight against ALS.
“He was a warrior. He was a wonderful example of how to do it all with tremendous gusto and with dignity,” Charron said.