Longtime Calgary Flames organist Willy Joosen passes away
The Flames lost their longtime organist Friday, when Willy Joosen died.
The organization extended its condolences on social media, saying, "For 34 years, organist Willy Joosen brought so much joy and happiness to everyone who came to #Flames games. He was an incredibly kind soul who uplifted everyone around him. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. Rest in Peace, Willy."
In a 2019 interview with CTV News, Joosen spoke to reporter Jordan Kanygin about his first night as the Flames' organist, on Oct. 17, 1988.
"That was (Wayne) Gretzky here as a Los Angeles King for the very first time and we pancaked them. It was 11-4," he recalled.
Joosen didn't have to manufacture his enthusiasm for the game. He was a passionate Flames' fan, who kept an audio recording of Peter Maher's call of the Stanley Cup winning game in 1989, which he played in the car over and over again.
"You gotta have heart in the game," he said to Kanygin. "It’s this roaring privilege to be like ‘Are you kidding? I get to sit here and watch that?’"
While the production of pro sports has evolved over the years to include a litany of recorded music, video, lights and special effects, the organ has been the soundtrack - and the backbeat - of the hockey arena and Joosen was Calgary's conductor for more than three decades.
"He’s kind of like a tradition and an institution," said Steve Edgar, the Flames’ manager of game presentation in that 2019 story.
"He’s been doing this for almost 32 years now and he just provides us with an element of our show that we can have a lot of fun with," he said.
Friday, Flames employee and Saddledome tour guide Rick Tulsie weighed in on Twitter about the passing of Joosen taking place only days after the memorial service for longtime trainer Bearcat Murray brought many members of that Stanely Cup winning Flames team back together to pay tribute in Okotoks.
"From his organ stool," Tulsie tweeted, "He would have seen most #Flames fans grow up."
With files from Jordan Kanygin
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.