My best friend passed away this weekend.

[J pold]

I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to start this thread…but than I received a message through facebook from Neil (OILFAN #81), now I have never met Neil, never spoken with him other than a few PM conversations and replying to posts in threads…but reading his message made me realize that although many of us will never met that there is a sense of camaraderie here and in a way I consider many of you my friends

I have known my friend since grade 7 we where friends all through Jr. high and high school we played 3 years of football and rugby together and in the last months one thing we had always dreamed about came true…we got to live together, I am so thankful for that even if it was for only a short while…he was a very kind hearted person who always made you laugh, he never had any enemies everyone who knew him loved him

He was diagnosed with epilepsy in grade 10 but he never let it change his life…he still lived every minutes to the fullest and was always the life of the party…but early Friday night he had a seizure that took his life, but not his soul he will always live on, his name is Matt Suelzle he was 20 years old and his obituary is in the paper today…there is also a group devoted to him on facebook with over 300 members

Also please extend your sympathies and condolences to his friends Josh (jroc), iggypop (Tim) and bylan (Derek) who are also members of CP we where all a very close group although he always made fun of us for being message board nerds

[MissKat]

Sorry to hear that - my condolences to your friends family. A year ago at this time, my grandpa passed away and it was one of the hardest things Ive ever had to go through. Just remember that time heals everything.

[ken0042]

I had a high school buddy pass away at the age of 17. We weren't overly close, but it was still a tough time. I can't imagine losing a best friend.

Good to see you remembering the good times. That's the most important thing right now.

[BavarianHorde]

His family, as well as yourself and his friends, are in my prayers.

God bless

[Nehkara]

My condolences to you J pold, Matt's family, as well as to the other members of CP affected by Matt's passing. May he rest in peace.

[FlamesKickAss]

Condolences to you and yours at this time, and may he rest in peace.

[Azure]

I lost my best friend in when we were both 17 years old....sorry to hear about this J pold.

All the best.

[sadora]

When my friend passed away four years back I found the best way to deal with it by going to this place where we used to play when we were little. We grew up near Fish Creek Park and we would always go to this place near a creek where we used to build a little fortress. It's been four years and I still go there now, every once in a while because we used to have so much fun there.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I hope you find the strength to get through this. The best thing is to remember the good times, as cliched as that sounds, but that helps you appreciate that person even more. All the best to you and your friend's family.

[Eastern Girl]

I'm very sorry to hear about this, 20 years old, he was so young. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

And it's good to see you are keeping positive and remembering the good times that you had with him. That certainly helps in times like this, I find.

[Ro]

My sister had a close friend pass away a couple years ago at age 20, and she found that the hardest thing was being around his parents, who were so unbelievably distraught.

So if I/she could give you any advice, it would be to make sure you let them know what special person and friend he was, and do anything you can to help them get through this tough time. Only you can judge when the time is right and what sort of things would be appropriate to tell them, but my sister found it was therapeutic for both parties to discuss what made Dieter such a great kid and why they were going to miss him so much.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[OILFAN #81]

Cody, I basically told you everything I had to say on facebook in your inbox. Your friend Matt (looking at his pictures) seemed like a phenomenal human being and reminded me alot of some of my friends. From reading comments he seemed to be the one who always made sure everyone had a good time, was a goofball in that he made you laugh but most importantly had a great heart. Again my thoughts go out to you, those 3 individuals you mentioned on cp in your post: iggypop, jroc and bylan, as well as everyone effected by his tragic loss.

I wasn't planning on mentioning this but you mentioned me in your original post and I just wanted to say that I am still thankful for everyone on CP that messaged me last year and sent me well wishes when my gf Chantelle passed away from a drunk driver (you were one of those Cody). I still have every one of those messages saved in my CP inbox (which is why my inbox is currently 97% full). I got over 250 messages from a lot of people I hadn't met before and just like you I realized there is that camaraderie on this message board. Personally, I know about 10-12 of you or so in "real life" but I again say thanks to all of you. I know when something like this happens it means oh so much to have people even message you and tell you they are thinking about you. I know I am "the enemy" on this board being a hardcore Oilers fan, but hockey is just a game, it's individual criteria that is 1, and hockey team a very distant second. Hockey is a game, this is life. God bless ya Mr. Suelzle. RIP.

Neil aka OILFAN #81

[burn_this_city]

A very close friend of mine was killed on August 4th in a hit and run outside the Whiskey. He was a 28 year old chemical engineer with everything going for him in life. We had become very good friends after working on a couple of oil sands projects together. Even now over a month later I can't seem to accept it. His funeral was easily the hardest things I've ever been through. The most difficult thing to accept is the person who murdered him is still out there. I can't fathom waking up every day knowing that you killed two people in cold blood, and drove away while they lay dying in the street. I'm sure it was some crack head or meth addict since the car was stolen and ditched just a block away. I guess it’s just another reason for me to hate every drug addicted pos I come across. These people have no right to steal what they could never earn in their own lives.

[pope04]

My most sincere condolences to all that've lost someone dear to them.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

My condolences.

[bigtmac19]

My heartfelt condolences to you jpold and iggypop, jroc and bylan.

I lost my best friend at age 18 to a car accident. It was many years ago, and a terrible thing to go through. I still think of her often but always with a smile for the fun we had together.

[Slava]

My condolences as well. Its a tragic loss at such a young age.

[habernac]

damn, jpold. That is awful. My condolences. We received word yesterday that a co-worker of ours had died on the weekend. 35 years old, just had a baby girl not too long ago and has a 6 year old, too. 35 and 20 are way too soon.

[jroc]

I was about to start this exact thread earlier this week... i decided against it for some reason... I'm glad you started it though Cody... I'm gonna miss Matt so much and it's a real shame he had to be taken away from us. Thankyou to everyone and all of your support!

[Mango]

I'm very sorry for your loss. As mentioned earlier in the thread, perhaps visit a place you had fun as children or even start a scrapbook of photos. It helps to cry and talk about your emotions; you'll be able to find comfort in others and in turn, you'll comfort them as well.

[Dion]

Sorry to hear of your loss. Lost a good friend to a brain tumour a few years back and can understand the pain you must be feeling.

He may be gone but the good memories you have of him will live on forever. Cherish those good memories.