I thank you for being here to celebrate the life of a man who was a loving husband, a wonderful brother, a great dad, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle and a devoted friend to all who knew him. Garnet Edward Ryan was born right here in Windsor just over 85 years ago - a new son for my grandparents Edward and Veva and baby brother to Claire. Im sure all of us here could summarize our memory of him with these three traits - his booming voice, his deep contagious laugh and his bushy moustache. Though a man that stood only this tall he had a personality that towered above us all. Dad was extremely large in his love for life, his sense of humour, that unmistakeable voice and his dedication and devotion to those things that were important to him. That dedication and devotion manifested itself throughout his life as he and Babs tirelessly devoted endless hours to the Royal Canadian Legion and its student athlete program, the golfing-55 plus league and the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps - a program that Pat, Doug and I all participated in. Dad was an organizer and it was not unusual that see that anything he was involved in and helped with usually led to him running it whether he wanted it that way or not. Dads love of the military was unmistakeable and it made us all proud to see him progress from his start as an entry level Private who you couldnt see as he was dwarfed behind the bass drum he wore on his chest in the Essex Scottish Pipe Band to the ultimate accolade of being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and being given command the 21st Windsor Service Battalion. His military wisdom and knowledge provided both my brother Pat and my sister Lynne with the support and direction needed to see him become Commanding Officer of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment and her attaining the rank of sergeant and it provided me the direction, background and guidance I needed to fulfill my dream of a military career and all that followed from that. Dad was an avid sportsman throughout his life; he enjoyed playing such sports as recreational hockey, golf and curling. He even took up downhill skiing as an adult learning on the small hills of Michigan ski resorts. I had the opportunity to show him the big hills of Western Canada in the early 80s. I was living in Alberta the time and he and Huey Allan flew in to Edmonton where I picked them up and we drove west to ski Marmot Basin in Jasper. Earlier I mentioned Dads extraordinary sense of humour. I must tell you that living with those two in a small hotel room for four days provided a lifetime of laughs. The ultimate laugh came when, on our first trip up the mountain to the top of the chairlift, they dragged a book out of one of their backpacks. The look on the faces of the other skiers coming off the chairlift was priceless as they saw these two middle-aged grey haired men at the top of Marmot Mountain holding up at focal arms length and gazing into an instructional book titled How To Ski. Life did not start out easy for our Dad. Early in life he worked a low paying job in a gas station to support his family but he had a vision of which we are all extremely proud. He returned to school as an adult and earned his university degree and graduated from teachers college opening the door for him as an automotive teacher with the Windsor school board. This also provided him an even greater opportunity as he met and married his devoted and loving wife Babs. Dad was an Automotive Teacher at King George High School on Ottawa Street - I am honoured that some of you who were there at the time are here with us today. As young adults, if we had a problem with one of our cars, it was only a quick phone call and a short drive away and like magic a problem was solved. If you ever visited Dad at his shop it was great to watch him teach and pass on his knowledge and love for fixing cars. It was also funny to watch the kids who only took his class for a credit. He had a two room shop - the classroom with the hoists and a wash bay. Those who wanted to learn were always where Dad was and those who didn't give a hoot were in the other room. As Dad moved around the shop so did the students - he knew this and he always said that nothing got by him. Dad would relate stories of him breaking up fights at school - he would get between the scrappers and because of his small stature they would think it was another student and take a swing at him and that's all it took for Dad to end the fight in his fashion. He may have been small but so is dynamite and you didn't want to make him mad. Dad was a straight shooter who knew how things should be done and wasnt afraid to correct you if he didnt agree with your approach to things. If you did something out of sorts he would let you know how it should really be - if you didnt like or agree with his assessment you were likely only to hear well, sorry about your luck. Over the last several years Dads health started to fail him and it compromised his ability to live the full and active life that he was used to. He underwent a heart surgery operation, had what I referred to him as bionic knees installed and finally and critically his kidneys failed him and he was forced into a constant regimen of dialysis. Through all this you never heard him complain but you knew it was affecting him - the classic and unmistakeable laugh became less and less frequent. Over the last little while you knew that his kidney failure was taking its toll - you could see it was draining away that classic Garney personality we all knew and loved. He appeared to be in a constant state of tiredness, even struggling to stay alert during his favoured NCIS television series. He realized and willingly accepted his limitations and the required compromises and gave up driving. His strength continued to fail him and he increasingly experienced growing balance issues. It came to a point where he required help with what became a struggle with the simple process of climbing a few steps. Early this past Wednesday morning it all became too great a burden and he left his struggle behind for greater things. Dad we all trust that you are now in a place where your hearing is back, the knees are new and your strength has returned to its former glory. The only thing Pat, Doug and I cannot find acceptable is that all your hair has now returned. His leaving leaves a big hole in Babs and our lives but we will always remember the little man with the heart of gold and that contagious laugh and booming voice. Im sure right now he is standing around in a friendly conversational circle of friends who have also passed. Someone is sure to say Garney, stand up, we cant hear you. You know you would quickly hear that signature booming voice respond I am standing up DAMMIT. Give your head a shake. You know the drill. We Love You, We Miss You.