Neil Stewart stood outside the Crown & Tower Pub Monday, bright blue eyes brimming with tears. He came to watch the funeral of Const. David Wynn on TV, he said.
Neil Stewart stood outside the Crown & Tower Pub Monday, bright blue eyes brimming with tears.
He came to watch the funeral of Const. David Wynn on TV, he said. But they were playing his favourite song Amazing Grace now and he needed to catch some air.
“I thought, instead of sitting at home by myself and bawling there I might as well come here and bawl here. Be with some friends,” he said.
It was lunch hour at the pub but you could hear a pin drop.
Most seats were empty but for a few people huddled around a wall-mounted TV in the corner, nursing half-eaten sandwiches and full glasses of beer. The waitresses whispered when taking orders. No one else spoke a word.
That same quiet was felt in many places in the city that afternoon. In homes, bars and churches across the city, residents, clad in red, came together to watch the regimental funeral of Const. David Wynn on TV.
“It was very profound seeing everybody come out together,” said Connie Dueckman, who watched the funeral from inside St. Albert Alliance Church. “It made me aware of all the things that go on throughout the night while I am asleep, all the things (the RCMP) are doing for us… while I am safe in my bed.”
The Alliance Church was built to seat hundreds. But on Monday only a small group congregated here, mostly seated in the front of the church.
A boy shifted on his chair, a woman sniffled and a man tapped his chest in silent prayer. On the screen, Const. Wynn's sister Mona said her brother would ask for forgiveness.
Later on, people left the church to talk in the parking lot. Like Dueckman, many agreed, the funeral was “wonderful,” and provided closure to the community.
“It freaked me out that this happened in my community,” she said. “All of a sudden it's so close to home.”
At the beginning of the funeral procession, people stood up inside the Arden Theatre. They held their breath as the coffin arrived. They cried when they saw the Wynn family take their seats. They joined in, one after the other, singing O Canada.
Boxes of tissues stood at the bottom of the theatre's stairs.
“I did not want to be crying by myself,” said Lisa Buchanan, who arrived at the Arden an hour before the funeral. “I wanted to share with others, talk with others. Because I think there is healing in sharing.”
Buchanan tied ribbons the second night after the shooting. The tips of her thumbs are still cracked from the work. She wanted to support the family on this day, too.
Asked why it's important to grieve together, she said it shows support. Not just for the Wynns but also to the family of Auxiliary Const. Derek Bond, the first responders, the staff at the casino and a community in pain.
“I think there are a lot of silent hurts in this community,” she said. “It's a feeling of loss and grief for the families and I think that loss of innocence. I think the bubble around St. Albert has burst.”
