Letter of Personal Thanks
(From - Peter, Diane & Jessica Ratcliffe)

The response by our friends as well as the entire community of Hudson to the tragic accidental death of James Ratcliffe, on June 6, 2005, has been truly overwhelming. By this letter we would like to extend our sincerest personal thank-you to each and every person, family and organization that has reached out to help our family since that time.

The overwhelming and unending flow of kind thoughts, loving words, cards, flowers, gifts, food and kind selfless acts has allowed us more freedom and the luxury of time to begin slowly coming to grips with the brutal reality of our sudden loss. The tremendous effort and organization the Town of Hudson provided for the Civic Funeral for our fallen hero was an honour and comfort to all of us. We thank St. Thomas Church and Father Demers, for the use of their church as well as Rev. Kent Chown of Wyman for co-leading the service. We thank the Hudson Yacht Club who opened their grounds and also all the Town of Hudson and the organizations and individuals that provided food, drink and volunteers for the reception following provided a special comfort and place to gather afterwards. A very special thank-you goes to the member of HYC who provided, on such short notice while refusing compensation, the luxury coach and driver for our family and friends. We are thankful for the help and support from the City of Montreal Fire Department, as well as the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and all the other firefighters and medical units who provided exceptional people, trucks and help of all kinds on a tremendously hot day.

A very special thanks goes to Chief Milot and the fine men and women of the Hudson Volunteer Firefighters. They inspired, worked and trained alongside James, helping him to be more of the man he wanted to become and fulfill his dreams. These fine firefighters stood by James in life and death, doing duty they had never imagined with honour. The firefighters now stand by our family and community having earned respect, honour and dignity beyond their young years. We hope and pray that they are each able to find peace and comfort enough to continue their selfless service to Hudson.

We would also like to take time to thank the many friends, parents, teachers and anyone who was James’ friend in his short life. You have all contributed to who James was and what he aspired to be and the fine young man he became. While James lived too few years, the life he found here in Hudson was full of love, laughter, learning, opportunity and fun that made each moment happy and special. In hindsight James lived much more than most, much happier than most and will be missed by many more than most, which might be one definition of a truly successful life well spent. We knew James was a special man; it is uplifting to see so many others who agreed with us and share our loss.

We grieve as a family within a special community that also grieves deeply, so we have never felt alone or abandoned in our times of confusion and despair. While our family begins our journey on a lifetime quest to seek healing that will never complete, once again Hudson has shown itself to be a truly special place to live and raise a family. We are not surprised, we chose carefully when we moved here to raise our family and have had a long and deep respect for the community of Hudson. We have been amazed not just by the love that poured to us from Hudson, but the openness with which so many people loved and truly respected our son and brother James. While we can now only touch James in our hearts, minds and memories, the outpouring of compassionate love and fond memories of the community for James have filled our hearts with additional pride and shared love for our only son. This sharing makes our burden lighter to bear.

Thank you all for helping to lighten the immense sadness and loss we must bear.

With all of our love and respect,

Peter, Diane and Jessica Ratcliffe