Honouring Lou Lockyer

[attach]3405[/attach]Lou Lockyer was always helping others.

Whether behind the snack bar at East York Memorial Arena or coaching a local hockey team, he could be counted on.

On Feb. 13, roughly 10 months after his sudden passing, the East York community is hosting a charity hockey event at the arena to honour the memory of a man well-regarded in the community he devoted himself to.

Lockyer died on April 9 after suffering a stroke.

The hockey event is quite fitting, given that the beloved son, brother, husband, father and friend’s love of hockey was almost equal to his passion for helping the community.

“He was just a free spirit and a really good guy,” said Art Kennedy, president of the East York Hockey Association and a friend of Lockyer’s for over 20 years. “He did a lot for everybody and everything in the community.

“He was just a nice guy.”

Coaches from the association will face off against local firefighters during the charity game. Afterward, members of both teams will remain on the ice for a game of shinny with younger players. Small children will be able to play with Marlies mascot, Duke the Dog, on an indoor mini rink.

A 50/50 draw will also take place and numerous items have already been donated for the silent auction.

Tickets for the event will cost $3 and proceeds will be donated to the Mikey Network, a charity that works to install defibrillators in public spaces. The money will also be used to build a bench outside of East York Arena to commemorate Lockyer.

He was often seen outside the arena with a coffee in hand, “so we thought it was kind of a nice memory of him by doing that,” Kennedy said.

The event begins at 11 a.m. and will run until 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13.