PHOTO: CNMT
Families say ‘a final goodbye’ aboard HMCS Sackville
By Nathan Stone,
Trident Staff
The cremated remains of 12 people, including 11 former Canadian Armed Forces members, were committed to the sea on the morning of September 17 from His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Sackville, Canada’s Naval War Memorial.
The ship was towed to the mouth of Halifax harbour, across from the Halifax Memorial in Point Pleasant Park, for the ceremony.
On the aft deck, ship’s Chaplain Andrew Cooke recited a prayer for each committal as families read eulogies. Family members then watched as a small box holding their loved one’s remains slowly disappeared beneath the waves.
Among the 12 was Charles Anthony Goode, the son of Captain (Navy) (Retired) Anthony Goode, a long-time trustee of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust (CNMT) Charles, an avid surfer, died suddenly three years ago due to a heart condition.
His father said committing his son’s remains to the sea was a way to respect his deep love for the ocean.
“It brings closure,” Capt(N) (Ret’d) Goode said of the ceremony. He also plans to be committed to the sea after his own passing.
“I can’t think of a better way to memorialize my life,” he said.
PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Commander (Cdr) (Retired) Garry Reddy, HMCS Sackville’s Commanding Officer, noted the ship has been conducting committals at sea since 1985. While some are still done aboard active Royal Canadian Navy ships, Sackville performs the majority.
Cdr (Ret’d) Reddy said preparations begin about two months before each ceremony. No committals took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a backlog of families waiting to commit their loved ones. As a result, two ceremonies are currently held each year.
Julia Eisen and her family were aboard to commit their father, Petty Officer Milton Sammas. Before the committal, the family shared a small drink of rye, pouring a little on the box of remains to offer their father one last sip of his favourite drink.
Eisen said the ceremony represented a “final goodbye” to her father. Many families also added their own personal touches to the ceremony.
Kerry Jarvis and his wife Melitta Smole were aboard to commit Kerry’s father, Doug Jarvis. During the Second World War, Doug served as an Able Seaman and radio operator aboard a Flower-class corvette, HMCS Brantford, the same class of ship as Sackville. Jarvis and the crew of Brantford patrolled Atlantic Canada from Newfoundland to the Bay of Fundy.
He was 94 when he died on Oct. 20, 2019.
In August 2005, Kerry joined his father on a pilgrimage to Halifax to see Sackville.
Upon their arrival, Doug was penny-whistled (piped with a bosun’s call) aboard Sackville. He spent the morning examining every inch of the ship, telling stories about his time as a radio operator and remembering his shipmates.
“I was just a shadow,” Kerry said.
Doug rarely spoke about his wartime service before that trip, but he shared one story that day. After the war ended, he was in St. John’s, N.L., still waiting on his pay and discharge papers. When the food on Brantford ran out, military police removed him from the ship and put him in jail.
The next day, a captain who happened by took up his case and arranged his papers and pay, so Doug could take a ferry to Nova Scotia and a train home to Toronto.
Kerry still has the telegram his father sent announcing his return.
Kerry decided on a committal at sea after speaking with a retired sailor who connected him with Reddy. A letter sent in May moved quickly through the chaplain’s office, and a ceremony date was offered.
He said his father “would never have expected,” that he would be committed to the sea on the last surviving Flower-class corvette. The connection between Doug, Kerry, and the Sackville made the experience “really something special.”
