Barney Nichols will now become someone I remember.

He has been my friend for more than 20 years. He died quietly in his sleep yesterday curled up under his quilt. His house was orderly and he had a glass of water before he climbed into bed.

My other old friend Peter Lowery found him after he didn't show up at a brunch they had planned. Barney was always on time.

I loved Barney. He looked like Michael Caine and spent years married to my friend Lou Lou. He could wash socks cleaner than anyone I ever met.
He knew everything about cleaning textiles and always gleamed with cleanliness.

He taught my son to wait on tables, full French service, when Bren was 3 years old. Bren walked around with a napkin on his arm for years. He also imitated Barney's precise Anglo-Montreal way of speaking. He knew Barney had class.

Barney had a deep drum of a voice that put shivers down my back in that good way. He was Irish Montreal and he could drink beer most properly.
He made everything just a little more fun .

When I got so sick I ran into Barney on Commercial Drive when I was going for a kill cancer walk. I was hairless, puffy and breathless.
He saw me and collapsed in tears. He shifted from foot to foot and finally just hugged me. A big fearless Barney hug.

That's what I'll miss the most.