Edward Emil Kirmhse Obituary

Edward Emil Kirmhse, known in this life by friends as Eddie, was 60 years old when he took his final breath on the afternoon of September 2, 2016.

He lived all his life on the West Coast, over the years living and working on several of the Gulf Islands, always returning again to his beloved Vancouver Island.

Eddie was predeceased by his parents and his younger brother, and I am not aware of any other family members.

What is to be most remembered of a life after that life ceases to exist? We who remain choose the story to be told.

Eddie was my friend. I will remember him as a contemplative, gentle soul of soft heart, creative if sometimes troubled mind, and mirthful, philosophical disposition.

My memory of him evokes a depth of emotion difficult to express in mere words. Potential never realized. Opportunities thwarted by self-doubt and hesitation, or simply missed. In some ways, a creative giant while in others an ordinary human, complete with debilitating stumbles.

If Eddie's mark in this life is condensed to its most pure essence, it is a mosaic of music and art and the peace that emerges from living an uncomplicated, quiet life. His immense natural gift of music was perhaps his deepest source of creative satisfaction. What he may not have managed to express in words, his fingers marked upon every fretboard fortunate enough to sing the notes they so deftly played.

My friend and my most faithful penpal was lost to me long before I learned of his lonely demise in his small apartment in a peaceful neighbourhood in West Victoria. His final letter to me dated July 2016 spoke of hope and rejuvenation and a renewed vigour for living well. I guess he did the best he could manage.

It is with a profound sadness I leave these final words of tribute to a good soul, my faithful friend, Eddie.

Some of our friends
never outrun the shadows that haunt them
And whether in their final moment it is to darkness or to peaceful relief they succumb
We remember them just as well
their impact and their shine never fades
Play on, my brother, to the stars.

🪶ml

Leave a sympathy message on the memorial page of Edward Emil Kirmhse as a last tribute. Donate to something worthy in his memory: animal welfare, art and music, preserving nature.