Bernie Parent's love for people and Flyers comes through in celebration of life originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As Scott Tharp watched all the miffed drivers whiz by Bernie Parent on the highway, he, of course, saw the legendary goaltender remain unfazed.
Parent was driving Tharp and others home from a 2018 outdoor game in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was going a cool 45 miles per hour in the left lane. Once he finally budged and moved his way to the right lane, some cars let him have it.
“Bernie rolled down his window and took both hands off the wheel to put his Stanley Cup rings out the window,” Tharp said. “And then turned to those of us in the car and said, ‘How about that? They’re cheering for me!'”
You could not bring down Parent’s zest for life and happiness.
“Bernie only ever saw good in others,” Tharp, the president and CEO of Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, said.
That was abundantly evident Friday night as the Flyers held a celebration of life for Parent, who died Sept. 21 at the age of 80. His wife, fans and former teammates sat in the lower bowl at Xfinity Mobile Arena, remembering the fun-loving, dominant goalie who led the Flyers to their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975.
“Bernie was a titan of our franchise,” Dan Hilferty, the Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO and Flyers governor, said. “For many, he is the quintessential Philadelphia Flyer. You cannot tell the story of the Flyers without talking at length about Bernie Parent.”
Video tributes and pictures were played on the arena’s giant scoreboard, which was flanked by Parent’s retired No. 1 and the Flyers’ Stanley Cup champion banners.
The Hockey Hall of Famer won the Vezina Trophy twice as the NHL’s top goalie and the Conn Smythe Trophy twice as the league’s postseason MVP.
“When you win two Stanley Cups, it takes the best that everybody on that team can give,” Bob Clarke, a fellow franchise legend, said. “It just so happened that Bernie’s best was better than the rest of our best and we got two Stanley Cups because of Bernie.”
Well before he became the NHL’s deputy commissioner, Bill Daly remembered when Parent crushed his childhood dream of the Rangers hoisting the Stanley Cup. The Flyers knocked out New York en route to their first championship.
“Bernie contributed to breaking the heart of a 10-year-old boy in 1974,” Daly said. “Yes, that would be me. Yes, I was raised as a die-hard New York Rangers fan growing up in North Jersey.”
Fans in attendance gave Daly some good-natured boos.
“Passionately committed to the team despite years and years of postseason failure, 1974 was supposed to be a different year for the Rangers, finally an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup,” Daly said. “But Bernie and the Flyers had different ideas.”
Parent was not just a fearless goalie who donned that iconic white mask. He was also a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
“I’m so lucky and blessed that I was able to be his daughter, his only daughter,” Kim Parent said in a video message. “Like, how lucky am I? I am so grateful. The bond that we shared was something that means the world to me.”
The Montreal native became devoted to the Philadelphia area, making it his home.
“You were such a huge part of his life,” his wife Gini Parent said. “Bernie didn’t just play for the Flyers; he played for you, the fans.”
Parent was a true ambassador for the Flyers’ organization and the Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education program. He was always happy to see fans and take pictures.
“I can remember numerous occasions where he had his Stanley Cup rings, he would share them, you’d look over and there’s a couple of kids wearing his rings,” Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones said in a video message. “I think that’s something fans really appreciated, but I think we all can learn from, because he took the time to make sure he shared his success with everybody else.”
Joe Watson probably could have shared Parent stories all night and into the morning. He had known Parent since 1963, before their title-winning days with the Flyers. He called it “an honor and a privilege” to be Parent’s teammate.
“I know Bernie’s up there laughing and smiling and everything else,” Watson, who fought back tears, said. “He’d love to be down here. But I look forward to seeing you again my friend.”
