Rest in Peace

Seamus was one of thirteen children, born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a publican and until just a few short years ago, Moroney's Pub was an icon to the Moroney family heritage. Seamus loved telling stories about his upbringing and his many siblings. He was a great story teller and entertained his children with his many tales of hijinks and antics as a child. From the trials and tribulations of eight brothers sharing a room to his story about the time Seamus and his twin brother threw their cat out the second story window to see if it really did have nine lives, he was never at a loss to recall a fond memory from his childhood.

At the tender age of 23, Seamus left Ireland to start a new life in Canada. But he left his heart in Ireland with a quiet shy young woman from Mulhuddart named Helen.   After two years of many heartfelt letters back and forth Seamus proposed to Helen. He bought her a ticket to Canada and asked her to take a chance with him. Helen left her life and family in Ireland to be with the great love of her life.

Helen and Seamus started their life together in Calgary, where Seamus started his 45 year career as a banker. In a span of 8 years, Seamus and Helen had four boys and one girl. Seamus dedicated his life to his family and, while he ruled with a firm hand, his wonderful sense of humor was never far from the surface. It was apparent to anyone who knew him that Seamus loved his family passionately and would have done anything for them.

Seamus' career took him from Calgary to Victoria, onto London, Ontario and then back to Victoria before he ultimately ended up in Vancouver. When he was asked to transfer back to Ontario Seamus made a tremendous sacrifice by walking away from his successful career with Canada Trust because he feared that the move would separate him from his children, who were starting to make their own way in life. Never one to stumble, Seamus continued his career on a new path and finished his career in Vancouver, never far from his children and their growing families.

Seamus was completely devoted to his beloved wife, Helen. He adored and respected his wife tremendously. She was his confidante, his biggest supporter and, most importantly, able to smooth the waters when he had what we affectionately referred to as his curmudgeonly moods.  When Seamus became ill Helen never left his side and we are eternally grateful that the strength of their 55 year marriage allowed them to weather the storm together as Helen became his strength and guiding light as the Seamus we knew and loved slowly disappeared.

He was an avid athlete and spent many hours in the squash courts fulfilling his competitive spirit. His sons recall fondly the camping trips he took them on and he loved traveling, whether it was to return home to Ireland or his trips to Hawaii and cruising with   Helen.

Seamus had a terrific sense of humor, which he passed on to his children. He delighted in embarrassing his children and was usually the life of the party with his repertoire of jokes. Even as the dementia diminished Seamus' mental and physical capacity he never lost his sense of humor. He was always up for a laugh and never took himself too seriously.

While it was heartbreaking to see the dementia take its toll on Seamus he never lost his spirit. He was a fighter to the end. And he never lost sight of what was most important to him - his family. He was the grandfather that we all wished for and adored spending as much time as possible with his nine grandchildren.  He was the first one to pick up a ball to play or attend the concerts, dance competitions, sports events and graduations of his grandchildren.

The last few years of Seamus' life became a microcosm of his entire life. He wanted to be surrounded by his family as much as possible, he still loved to laugh and make people laugh and he fought hard for what he believed in.  His strong faith helped him so much and brought him the peace that he so deserved.

Seamus will live forever in our hearts. We all carry a big piece of him and carry on his legacy of loving each other with passion and loyalty.

Seamus taught his children and, in fact, his mantra was and always will be "Family always comes first".

We welcome you to share a fond memory or story about our husband and father so that those stories may live on in our hearts forever.