In fond memory of a dear family friend, Barrie Belles who passed away on July 20, 2019 at the age of 71 after battling cancer.
Barrie was a man whose passion and hobby became his life’s work and legacy.
It all began one day, early in his childhood, when his father (who was not a coin collector) took Barrie to a coin shop while visiting in Winnipeg and purchased a coin catalogue. When he returned home, Barrie searched through a jar of coins and found a penny worth 25 cents.
He was hooked.
Barrie ran his business, Barrie’s Coins and Stamps in Regina, for almost 50 years until his son Brad took over at the end. Barrie loved what he did and his passion for his work was contagious.
I have a fond memory back from the Spring of 2019 when Barrie came to watch our son play in a hockey tournament in the Co-operators Center in Regina. After one game, in which the team had battled back from behind for a win, Barrie waited for Broderick to come out to congratulate him.
He bent over with his hand on Broderick’s shoulder, looked him in the eye and asked him if he knew who Yogi Berra was (I think Broderick thought he meant Yogi Bear as Broderick was nodding that he knew). Barrie told him, “it ain’t over till it’s over”.
That moment made an eternal impression on both my son and me.
Fast forward over three years later.
December 2022, we are back at a hockey tournament in Regina. Broderick’s hockey team made it to the semi-finals. It was a tie-game. The clock was winding down. Players from the rival team stopped moving as it looked like it was going into overtime…
With seconds left, Broderick rips a shot from the blue line. As the puck hits the back of the net the buzzer goes. Game over. A collective gasp, until the referee confidently makes the call, “Goal”! Everyone went wild with celebration! The Saskatoon Bombers went on to win the tournament.
I thought of Barrie again, “it ain’t over till its over”. And, it certainly doesn’t just apply on the ice or the field.
Never, never give up.
Barrie lived by that philosophy. He played the cards he was dealt and made the best of it. He worked at his store with the same interest and passion right to the very end.
The last time our family saw Barrie was on Canada Day, July 1, 2019 when we went to his store for a visit. He took the kids on a tour in the back of the shop and we spent time studying and learning about different coins and listening to Barrie’s stories (he was a wonderful storyteller).
We got the kids each a book to start collecting quarters and of course he gave us a deal – he was one of the most generous people I know.
When I asked Barrie, “what would be a good quarter for the kids to start their collection?” he simply said, “the first one they find is the best one to start.”
Barrie forever left his stamp on our hearts. He taught us to enjoy life and the people in our lives, and if we want to have a second Buster Bar, have it.
Barrie taught us to see the value in what we have already, that things mean more if you look beyond the face value, and that the JOY is in the collecting…. not the collection itself.
“And in the end, its not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”.
– Abraham Lincoln
