OTTAWA – Family, friends and schoolmates gathered Friday to say goodbye to Eric Leighton, the 18-year-old Ottawa student who was killed in a shop class explosion last week.
Mourners wore purple – Leighton’s favourite colour – as they filed into a church in the south-end suburb for the morning service.
The funeral itself was closed to the media, but reporters were able to follow the service and homily by Fr. Stephen Amesse on a closed-circuit video feed into the church hall.
Leighton died May 26 when a 55-gallon barrel he was cutting open in shop class exploded. The shop teacher and several other students were injured in the blast, which occurred when vapours from the peppermint oil that had been stored in the drum ignited.
The explosion inside the automotive shop was felt throughout the school.
Leighton, who loved hockey and lacrosse, played for the Almonte Thunder Junior B hockey club and was described by the people who have watched him play as a "strong, rugged defenceman."
Ottawa Citizen
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