My name is Sam and I was one of Geoff's many friends. I've been Geoff's friend for most of my adult life, I met him in 1971. He was making pottery at that time at Corbett Hall and also later at Pottery West, David Green's new, at the time, studio. He was still married to Alice and Paul was a little sprout. Geoff was kind and supportive to me then. He drove me through a snow storm to the airport in his spiffy ranchero, when I went to Japan in 1972. He also talked about his life and made my young mind boggle. His vocabulary was full of new words for me, including many salty expressions. And he was fun to talk to.  He liked nothing better than holding court with a group of friends. I am honoured to try to say something about his life. I know that there are so many more of you with your own stories of his spirit and friendship who are probably better qualified than a potter is to tell them.

     Geoff and I talked about Death quite a lot in this last year. I don't think that it was something that he really wanted to talk about, but it was heavily on my mind, and we were friends so we talked. I mentioned that I was impressed with Arthur  C. Clarkes epitaph which is "He never grew up, he never stopped growing" Geoff said that he'd thought that his own epitaph should be "He was an ordinary Man".  He was an extraordinary, ordinary man. He was a man of many, many talents, I am proud to have been his friend. Geoff died on September 6th and we all miss him so much.

     Geoffrey Edward David Hughes was born in Lahore; India at the time, now Pakistan, on February 16 in 1942. His parents were Andre and Maureen Hughes. Geoff's brother Mark was also born in India, in 1945. In 1947, the year that the British Indian Empire was partitioned, the family moved to England. (This was such a tempestuous time in the world's history).  Brothers Art and Paul were born in England in 1950 and 51. There was another brother, Art's twin, Earnest August Hughes, who died at birth. In 1954 the family immigrated to Canada, living in Gem, Alberta were Andre was principal of the local school.  The family moved again to Cold Lake, Alberta in 1956. Geoff went to University of Alberta in 1959 and married his first wife Alice Rebus at ST. Anthony's in Edmonton 1964. The precious legacy of this marriage was his son John-Paul, born June 22, 1965. Geoff taught in Grand Prairie Alberta, for some years before 1971.   It was after this time that his marriage with Alice ended and He married the love of His life, Rena, on December 22, 1973, at Coronado United Church. He also acquired another precious son, Preston Williams.  Geoff has had a wonderful family life, spending time with his brothers and their families.  Rena's family has been a huge part of their life together. Dick and Lynne Zeigler played such an important part in those early years. There is a book that could be written about this vibrant family and I'm sure there are many questions it would answer. Mark has been named the "family historian", I would certainly be interested in "the book of Hughes".

     Geoff had many friends from his teaching days at M. E. Lazert High School. Two that I met at a cross-country ski party that Geoff organized at Dick and Lynne Ziegler's first home in Coronado, were Gail Gates and Tony Fischer. Gail and Tony worked with Geoff for many years and knew him far better than I did. At Lloyd's funeral just 10 days ago, when we'd heard the worrying news that Geoff had trouble breathing and was in the intensive care unit again. Tony said to me, "I can't imagine a world without Geoff" Now we have this world and it feels kind of grey. We will remember Geoff, to honour his life and what he meant to us. We have indeed lost a beloved husband, father, brother, family member and treasured friend.

     Geoff was kind but honest; he said what he thought fearlessly.  Geoff was known to use the F word.  He called a spade a fucking spade. Sometimes this honesty seemed harsh. But he would not tell a lie to himself or anyone else.  And I honour this in his personality.

     His use of vulgar words might seem shocking for people who didn't know him, that a man so articulate would use such common language. But he was a rebel at heart and this was just Geoff. I can think of times in a restaurant with Geoff and Gail, waiting for Tony who might have been a bit late: "Fuckin Tony "Geoff would say, "Fuckin Sam", I don't think he'd say "fuckin Gail. Anyway these were like Geoff's blessings, meant in the kindest possible way. This word signified mostly nothing and I for one am glad he said fuckin Sam.

Geoff speaking in code:
     Geoff was a touchingly emotional man, and I think that sometimes he used vulgarisms as a code to hide his true intense feelings. Like Horace Rumpole who called his wife "she who must be obeyed", he said about Rena "she's small but she's mean", this meant he loved her beyond words. He delighted in buying her gifts. Dickhead was an endearment that he used for both of his beloved sons. (He also called John, Booj maybe a reference to the song Mr. Bojangles.) I was once chatting with him at Choir, I think about our friend Gail and I told Geoff that I loved him too. He told me, "Sam you're fuck'in crazy. Which in code, should have meant that he thought I was the sanest person he knew. But in fact it meant that I'd embarrassed him and that I was fuckin crazy. Geoff was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, in words at least. But you could often see it shining in his eyes.

     Geoff has been my friend for a long time, but we only really got back together regularly in the past 3 or 4 years. For many years Antonia, my wife and I were busy with our family of four children. Geoff might say "we should get together for lunch", but there just wasn't time.  Lately since our children become adults and I've had more time we began to lunch, usually with Gail and Tony but other friends of Geoff's as well. This was always fun, Geoff loved food and company. We would talk on the phone too. Geoff has done so many things, he was a very talented potter, and he dabbled in painting and was interested in Art History. He and Rena and Dick and Lynne Zeigler started the Serendipity Gallery that sold local paintings and art. He built model planes when he was a kid in England and this ability was admired by his younger brother Mark. He and his brother Paul made cedar strip canoes together. He rebuilt a Volkswagen beetle. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing and hunting during the period of his teaching in Grande Prairie, He was interested in tools, and knife making was one of the arts that Geoff pursued in Edmonton. These knives were an aesthetic pleasure for him and are a treasure for those lucky people who have one.  Anyway, all this made it fun for me to talk with Geoff, he was always interested in the stuff I was doing too.

      Geoff was an avid reader, something else we had in common. But he was a writer too; he sent many letters to the Edmonton Journal that were published on the Letters page. There was one thoughtful letter about a life lesson he had received from his father Andree. That letter was published on father's day. He also told me how the darned editors (he didn't use that phrase exactly) cut the best parts out of his published letter critical of the proposed entry signs for the city...  So we would talk about articles in the Edmonton Journal that we'd read and books too. One of the books that I lent Geoff to read was by the art critic Robert Hughes, "Things I didn't Know". This book was a significant book for Geoff, and we talked about it several times. One of the things that Robert Hughes said in the book was that "you don't write what you know; you write to find out what you know". This is so true. If anyone here who isn't going to speak would like to honour Geoff, and would like to find out what he meant to them; I can't think of a better way than writing your memories of him down, and sending it to Rena or John.

Geoff's love of music:
     I knew that Geoff loved music, that he listening to music, but I didn't know that he had been the lead singer in a band during his University days. That he had played guitar.

     The year I started going to A Joyful Noise Choir, I invited Geoff to our final concert. Geoff had told me that he liked singing, that he tried to join a choir and they didn't allow him to join because he couldn't read music. He did come to the concert, even though his health wasn't good at the time and he loved it. He had tears in his eyes while we were singing. I said afterwards "I saw the tears, we weren't that bad were we"? This got a laugh from Geoff. I often tried to get a laugh from Geoff. Geoff did join the choir.  Just as the next season was starting he had period of hospitalization for neuralgia.  But when he had recovered, he came to "A Joyful noise" like a duck to water. He had a wonderful voice, and he and his voice will be missed by all of us in the choir.  He had two seasons with the choir but as Susan Cribbs or maybe Eva too said "he seemed to make more than a two season impression". He was friendly and interested in people and he could remember their names to boot. Aunty Lynne joined as well. Geoff had a coded expression for our Choir Director, Eva Bostrand. He called her 'The Swedish Woman', meaning Beloved Choir Director. He was thrilled when she came to one of our lunches. He loved Eva, but then everyone in the choir does too. The Geoff Hughes memorial scholarship that has been established is a perfect way to honour something that Geoff loved.

      Geoff and I now had something else in common and we would talk on the phone before and after the choir evenings.  We would talk about books always books, family members, tools, what we were singing, everything from art and pottery to guns and girls (Don't ask about that). He would always hang up by saying "Bye Sam, take care", and he meant it. We always had fun talking and usually had a laugh too, I might try a joke sometimes with Geoff and he had a wonderful easy laugh.

     He had a great heart that was damaged, but the heart that he had left, went out to all of us that knew him. He was supportive and encouraging to me and kind and supportive to all of his old friends, yet he still had room for new ones. His interest in music was re-awakened by the choir and through guitar lessons he met and made a dear friend in Shirley Perry. I heard many details about Shirley, months before I met her. He loved singing duets with Shirley and they had been rehearsing the hymn "How great thou art" to sing at his father-in -laws funeral.  Rena told me that she loved hearing them practice this duet. Geoff loved his Rena, his Lolla, his family and friends. He loved singing.


     Geoff was larger than life in life and now in death He seems to be larger still.

    Geoff was not a religious man, but His Spirit is still with us, I can see him in my mind and He's singing. Now his big heart is as big as this September day, and his chest as big as the sky, and his voice is the song of nature.

     I will remember Geoff when I hear birds singing, or hear rain in the middle of the night; but I will see him in the faces of his brothers and in his beloved son Paul.
My life has been so much better because of Geoff, and I miss him.

     Take care Geoff.