On our arrival in Lisbon. Portugal, we were saddened to be informed that my cousin Lynn’s husband Dale had succumbed to cancer. This put a damper on an otherwise exuberant day, and we would think of him and his family often during the trip. We had last seen Dale in a set of unusual circumstances in October of 2011. Lori and I had hopped a plane in Winnipeg on our way to Ottawa, where we were heading out on a fall road trip though Quebec. Amazingly, Dale and Lynn walked past us on the plane and sat directly behind us. An absolutely amazing coincidence. We spent a bit of time chatting on the plane and a bit of time in the Ottawa airport before we went our separate ways. He was a great person and will be missed terribly by all in his circles.
Keeping in mind that we are not Catholic, and neither are Dale and Lynn, we decided on an appropriate tribute ( we think) in that we were in Spain and Portugal, both of which have a multitude of beautiful cathedrals. we decided we would light a candle in remembrance in each cathedral we visited.
Our first candle was lit in the famous Sao Domingo cathedral in Lisbon, just off Rossio Square.
Those are beautiful cathedrals.
And despite your non-religiousness, I’ve always thought that some places do have a certain holiness to them.
It’s a very nice tribute to Dale, and I’m sorry for the loss.
Not so much non-religious as non-catholic. The candle thing is not in my religious background. We love the cathedrals in Europe. Always a highlight.
I’m so sorry John. That’s terribly sad.
It was a shock, yet not unexpected. Brain tumour that was no longer treatable. 49, way too young