CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Family and friends gathered in Charlottetown on Monday to remember the life of Cody Robert MacLean.
MacLean, who died from injuries he sustained in a fight on Spring Street in Charlottetown Feb. 5, was remembered as a loving and caring son, brother, father and friend.
Jordan Murray, who was MacLean’s friend for 20 years, addressed a packed house at the Belvedere Funeral Home.
He said he met MacLean when they were kids and they became “instant friends”. They went to school together, spent many days after school hanging out and having fun and played hockey together.
While there were a lot of memories to draw from, Murray said he remembers when the APM Centre in Cornwall was built and he and MacLean would take their BMX bikes from their nearby neighbourhood down to the skatepark.
He talked about the time MacLean hit a ramp on his bike.
“He hit that ramp and it was the coolest thing ever, until he came down,” Murray said, as the congregation laughed. “He busted his lip on the handle bars and wound up getting the same Y-shape scar as I have on my chin.”
Murray said MacLean had no fear, and he was always there to stand up for a friend.
“He was a person that always had my back. He always had anybody’s back. He stood up for me numerous times.”
“He was the most kind-hearted and caring person that I was lucky to be friends with from the time I was three or four years old.”
-Jordan Murray
Murray said even though he’s lived in Ottawa for the past few years, he and MacLean kept in touch.
“He was the most kind-hearted and caring person that I was lucky to be friends with from the time I was three or four years old,” he said, adding that this trip home for the funeral was the first time he had the chance to meet MacLean’s young son, Lennon.
Murray said he was grateful for the opportunity to be able to say goodbye to his friend.
“He was a great man, a great son and a great father. He’s forever in our hearts and forever in our lives,” he said. “Love ya, Cody.”
Chance to help
Memorial donations can be made to Lennon Recovery House or Lennon MacLean trust fund at www.belvederefh.com/donations.
Rev. Steven Stead spoke about how last week’s events have “broken” many people, adding that it’s important to remember how the 24-year-old lived, not how he died.
He talked about the photographs at the funeral home that showed a boy and young man who was happy and enjoyed life. They depicted someone who loved playing hockey and hanging out with his brothers. Someone who loved going to the beach, digging clams and fishing.
“Those pictures tell a story and it tells a fuller story than a brief snapshot, because it tells the whole story of who Cody was.”
Life wasn’t always easy for MacLean and he was quite hard on himself, said Stead.
“All too often, he didn’t give himself enough credit.”
And while MacLean struggled with addictions, he was trying to turn his life around, he said, adding he had been attending Holland College at the time of his death.
“He had goals, he had plans, he had dreams, he had a vision of what he wanted to do, of where he wanted to go,” he said. “And a big part of that change came from Lennon. That will be Cody’s legacy.”
Nineteen-year-old Logan Raymond MacAusland of Charlottetown has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with MacLean’s death.
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