EVERETT — Even during this time, a time of her utmost grief, Lisa Piland decided to express her overflowing gratitude.
Through the inevitable tears Tuesday afternoon, Piland found a way to thank those who assisted her family in every way imaginable, right up to the moment her husband, David, lost his 23-month fight against brain cancer Sept. 14 at age 43.
Eyes glistening and voice breaking, Lisa Piland bravely heaped thanks on a community that unhesitatingly came to her family’s aid. Many givers she knows; many she doesn’t. Many acts of kindness over the past two years have no known author.
No matter. What else could she do — write 40,000 thank-you notes?
Clearly, Piland believed that this was the time.
“I just want to thank everyone who helped us through the most difficult time we’ve ever gone through,” Piland told the hushed guests as she was flanked by her children, T.J., Greg, Crissy and Katie. “David’s cancer became our family’s cancer. Then it became our church’s cancer. Then it became the community’s cancer.”
Known mostly for his work as a public-address announcer for Evergreen Speedway and the Everett Silvertips, Dave Piland was praised as a loving husband of 25 years, a doting, active father and a man of great Christian faith. In a moving memorial service, 3,000 strong gathered at Comcast Center to say farewell and pay tribute to the man many knew as “Super Dave.”
It was a ceremony that was uniquely two-pronged in its gifts. While Lisa Piland touched the gathering with her heartfelt appreciation, speakers never failed to laud the Piland family for its unyielding faith, unforgettable hope and prodigious courage.
“I have seen many families in crisis,” said Nate Hettinga, pastor at the Cascade Community Church in Monroe. “Seldom have I seen a family go through a crisis with such grace, dignity and faith as the Pilands have.”
It was a day of immense sorrow, but also one of great laughter.
Telling a story that just as well was told in a hockey arena than in a place of worship, cousin Joey Hammer described time when Dave Piland would baby-sit him and his three brothers. After goading the boys to eat something they shouldn’t have or act in a contrary way, Piland would line the boys up and gravely inform them that they would have to suffer punishment in the form of a severe spanking and would they please drop their pants.
This happened more than once. Each time, Piland would convince the boys that on this occasion, he couldn’t let them get away with this unspeakable offense.
“I’m serious this time,” Hammer quoted Piland as saying. So down went the pants.
Each time, Piland would roar with laughter, having tricked them again.
Photos upon photos of family vacations, of the Pilands’ wedding, of Piland holding his infant children and of visitors to the Piland household during his final days brought a curious fusion of profound sadness and boundless delight. But it left no question of who Dave Piland was: a father and husband who lived the adage that being good isn’t good enough.
It is an axiom by which the Piland family lives. Largely because of that, the last 23 months have served as the Pilands’ turn to receive from those they’ve helped over the years.
“You are loved,” Hettinga told the family.
The gathering gave evidence of how much — 3,000 times over.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. To reach Sleeper’s blog, click on “Dangling Participles” on www.heraldnet.com.
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