My dear one, Mohammed: Please extend my sympathies to Marcel’s family and to all who knew this magnificent and eccentric Canadian patriot. I worked with and spend much time with Marcel close to forty years. We supported him in Parliament and every endeavor that he undertook. I cannot possibly express all my sentiments as Marcel enveloped us in the mantle of his affection and love for Canada. He was the first Parliamentarian to advocate for the lost generation of Palestinians. He stood tall in the midst of derision by the press and his brother/sister Parliamentarians and others who simply did not understand his advocacy for the downtrodden in the world. He had a large vision of his mission during his earthly sojourn. I knew the heart of this man and respected him for his forthright positions in every platform afforded to him. Marcel was a humanitarian to the core championing cases throughout the globe. Tall, upright, he had a sense of propriety from the old school and never gained personally from the positions he held. A friend of St George, the supported the movement that began in the basement of St. George for there to be a national body representing the Arab concerns regardless of religion that today is in place in Ottawa. Responsible for shepherding several grants to the Church, he lost no occasion to push the parish towards involvement in Canadian and Quebec affaires making St. George one of the most prominent parishes in Canada on the national scene. We stayed in touch until recently even in retirement, I could never forget the bond of friendship that we shared with both Marcel and Rita., Imagine all the governments he served under but he cherished the Trudeau years as his best, relishing to tell stories during those years. You cannot imagine the delight he had when Justin was elected Prime Minister, I believe I was the first to call him in dialysis from Arizona telling him of the news. There is a funny story that is forever embedded in my mind. He adopted and we adopted him at St George. One festive occasion he was seated in the front, as usual, respecting his position. During the service, he began to admire the new parish seating robe that his friend Charles Auger donated. He stood up fidgeting his finger into the bracket, in which he stuck his middle finger. He could not extract his finger and all through the rest of the service until rescued by Adel Elian, he stood lop sided . Can you imagine that tall gentleman standing unable to move, well, we could not stop laughing watching Marcel. He took this with his usual aplomb. Farwell, my dearest of friends Marcel, a man of great distinction who valued the human person above all worldly possessions. Khalil Gibran once wrote in the Prophet: ONE DOES NOT KNOW THE DEPTHS OF LOVE UNTIL THE HOUR OF DEPARTURE: FINALLY he wrote: do not say that God is in my heart, but rather you are in the heart of God.! Indeed Marcel is in the Heart of God. Memory Eternal! WELL DONE THY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT ENTER INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD!