Hello Mario! | Quebec Magazine

Mario Houdon in his final moments. Her daughter said Sunday morning that the disease was spreading faster than expected, which led to the order being cancelled The farewell party was planned to be held on Saturday, December 2.

There was only Super Mario to organize a party for his passing. He intended to leave on December 7 for medical assistance to die.

But respiratory problems took him to hospital this week and it is unlikely he will be released from hospital. Six days ago, he was still giving more interviews to say hello to everyone.

I titled him “My Mario.” In fact, I’m not very close to the former radio presenter. But it didn’t matter, it was always like this when I saw him: Hey Mario! If you are in any way involved in local sports in Quebec, you know this and have watched it dozens of times.

Because Mario is everyone’s friend. It’s everyone’s Mario. It would really take someone with the most ill will in the world to say that he doesn’t get along well with Mario.

It was comical and beautiful besides. His daughter Jessica, who was trying to organize Mario’s going away party, doesn’t seem to know what to do anymore. I booked a room for 150 people, and within a few hours, 250 guests expressed interest in attending.

Life lesson

When I asked him if he realized how much everyone loved him, and how much he played an educational role in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Mario remained humble: “I have good friends and a big mouth. “

Mario wanted to wait until his grandson Nathan’s 15th birthday party next Thursday before leaving. His brother, Isaac, is appointed leader of his Atom team. It’s enough to make Grandpa very proud that he gave an entire life lesson by never complaining about the bad ALS he has been fighting since December 7, 2020.

Until this week, he continued to joke about his illness, through some tears, to calmly announce the date of his passing.

The last time I saw Mario in good health was shortly before he was diagnosed. He worked at JD Mitsubishi to finish his career with simpler hours. I was stopping to look at the car. How did it turn out, in your opinion? We went into his office and started talking about the Nordics, the mobs in Florida and the coyote saga. Mario opened up his computer and showed me a big Excel spreadsheet in which he compiled a lot of attendance statistics to prove the anomaly caused by the lack of NHL hockey in Quebec. Sorry Pierre Tremblay, his boss, I don’t know if you know he does this sometimes while working. We bought the car, so it worked out anyway.

When they leave

Mario, it was also the famous open lines that were very entertaining. These were his amazing descriptions of senior hockey. He was an absolute presence in local sports. It wasn’t always easy to get a microphone on radio stations in Quebec. We talked about him everywhere, but we always ended up finding him again, because he knew how to carve a place for himself in the hearts of Quebec sports fans.

It’s a cliche, but often when they’re gone we tell people we love them. I hope you can read all of this, we love you Mario! You told me how happy I was when I passed by the Newspaper Because your parents and grandchildren can be proud of you. I hope they are proud! We will miss your courage, your kindness, your love of Quebec and your everlasting smile.