The loss of four members of the Traynor family continues to grip Oshawa.
As Chris, Bradley, Adelaide and Joseph Traynor were laid to rest Thursday, the community came together to stand in solidarity and remember each relative who died in the Sept. 4 shooting.
On Thursday afternoon following the funeral, a large crowd of students, staff and residents gathered to watch the procession that drove by Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School where Chris Traynor, 50, taught law class for 20 years. His daughter, 15-year-old Adelaide, also attended the school.
“This is really something that has hit our Oshawa community,” said the school’s principal Michael O’Brien.
O’Brien says counsellors have been made available to students who are grieving.
“It hurts,” said student Kory Scott.
“It hurts us all because it was a community and at the end of the day, we love Mr. Traynor.”
Grace Politano, who often spoke to Adelaide in the halls, says the Traynors were the “nicest people ever.”
Chloe Clarke says Adelaide was “one of the sweetest people to ever walk this earth.”
“She was nice to everyone and always had a smile on her face.”
Chris’s legacy spans beyond the school, as he is also being remembered by Oshawa’s baseball community as a dedicated coach.
He coached for the Oshawa Legionaires, a team his 11-year-old son Joseph, often called Joey, played for.
“He was just really connected well with the kids,” said head coach Brian Weatherbee. “He was just such a fantastic addition to our coaching staff and just such a genuinely nice man.”
Weatherbee adds that Joey was a “great pitcher.”
“I’ll remember him for his extreme love of baseball and just being a huge baseball fan.”
Bradley Traynor, 20, is also being remembered by the community as a “special” friend.
Marlene Joel writes on his obituary, “I so clearly remember you sitting in the circle, looking like an angel waiting to say our kindergarten prayer and do our morning routines.”
“I knew then how special you were. When my eldest son Lucas (20, your age) would come and visit the class you and Lucas would play together, it was priceless.”
Regional chair John Henry also commented on how the loss has impacted not just Oshawa, but the entire region and across the country.
“Our thoughts are with the family and relatives,” Henry said.
“There’s an entire community that’s been touched by the Traynor family.”
The family members are survived by Loretta Traynor, who was injured and lost her husband and three of her children in the shooting, and Sam Traynor, the couple’s fourth child.
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