Norah recalls a telling quote: "Sometimes life is just like hockey. If they hit you, you hit them back."
Norah recalls Jim throwing out pennies because he thought they were worthless. "Somewhat prophetic," she quips.
Norah finishes, and takes her seat. Now, his wife, MPP Christine Elliott, and three sons take to the podium.
March 12, 1991 was the most important day in Flaherty's life, says his son, Quinn. That's when his three boys were born.
Quinn says friendship, family, faith, and love guide his family. "We'll take it from here," he concludes.
Galen is up next. Many people knew Flaherty by many names, but he was just Dad to the boys.
"As a kid, I would watch his every move, and sometimes I'd even listen to him." There are two Jims, he says: the relaxed version, and the slightly less relaxed version.
"He was a politician because he loves his country," says Quinn. "He was my father because he showed me what it takes to be a man."
Christine Elliott speaks next. He was "driven, intense, a perfectionist."
"Your father loved you completely. You were the centre of his universe," Christine tells her boys.
"Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Everything is as it was." The opening lines of an Irish prayer Elliott recites.
Elliott concludes, and the family leaves the podium.
Flaherty's friend, Labour Minister Kellie Leitch, now takes to a podium for a reading.
Leitch finishes, presses a hand to Flaherty's flag-draped casket, and takes a seat.
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