The eulogy to Ed Hearn, Q.C., distinguished lawyer and co-founder of the 2041 Group was delivered by Richard Cashin, August 1, 2015 at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, St. John's prior to his internment in Brigus, his birth place.
Good
morning
We
are here today to remember, to mourn, to honor a beloved husband, father,
brother and friend. A truly outstanding
human being.
A
proud son of Brigus, from a family with deep roots in our province. A graduate
of Memorial and Dalhousie Law. Upon being called to the Bar he went to Labrador
City – almost a pioneer in this Province’s newest and biggest source of wealth.
But he was more that a competent and successful lawyer in the Province’s new
frontier. In barely a decade, he had established himself as one of the bar’s
most respected legal minds. He appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in a
number of significant, and in the case of the 1984 Upper Churchill Water Rights
Reversion, “Historic Cases”.
His
great regret, even frustration, was the failure of his client, the Government
of NL and successive governments, to follow the direction the Court gave,
namely to pursue Sec 92A of Canada ‘s constitution as a means to bring
additional revenue to the Province from Churchill Falls.
I
am sure Ed would deem me remiss if I did not add “ the small extra we in this
Province would have to pay to get a much bigger largess from Quebec would pale to
insignificance compared to that which we and generations to come will have to
pay for the folly of Muskrat Falls.
He
served for many years as a bencher of the Law society including terms as its
Vice President and President. He was singularly responsible for the reforming
and reorganization of the Law societies professional, legal liability fund to
the benefit of both the profession and
the general public.
Ed
was more than an outstanding lawyer with an inquiring mind. His intellectual pursuits
went far beyond the law. He was an avid
reader. He had read most of the masters of the English language.
He
read countless biographies of the world great figures and even lessor known
ones. I remember when I first heard of Allister McLeod I gave him a copy of his
award winning great Canadian novel NO Great Mischief. He thanked me and
told me he had read all of Allister’s 16 short stories. I was unaware of them
but subsequently was delighted to read them. He opened up so many of our minds.
Most
of all Ed was a great human being.
Husband,
father, son, brother and friend. He did countless untold acts of kindness and charity
not only in this country but as far away as Antigua, never needing pubic
recognition and many here today can attest to the many times he reached out and
helped them. He was fortunate to have married Grace, a woman who shared his generous
spirit and refusal to say no to any one in need.
He
Adored his children loved to be with them skiing, travelling, introducing them
to many things, and going to Florida and especially taking them to Bern’s … What
a marvelous legacy he has bequeathed them.
I
have been privileged to know many fine, indeed exceptional, human beings but I
have not known any who had the combination of an inquiring mind, high
intelligence, deep humanity with such a generosity of spirit like Ed.
We
have been privileged to know him; surely a rare and special human being. We are
not likely to see his likes again.
They
are not dead who live in lives they leave behind. In those whom they have
blessed they live a life again.
