He was a popular man and it was evident at his funeral, Monday. Mourners overflowed onto the steps of Our Lady of Hungary catholic church to remember 64-year-old Dennis Bird, who died last week in a hit and run on Commercial Drive in east Vancouver.
His injured wife Madeline, who was also hit by the SUV, was able to attend the funeral only after her doctors agreed to let her out of hospital for a few yours. The couple had been married for 39 years.
Dennis' brother William says it's only now that the reality of what happened last week is sinking in.
"The suddenness of it. That is the shock,'' said William Bird. "It's the first time anything like this has happened when you get a call at 9:00 p.m. and he dies in the morning,'' he said.
Bird and his wife were walking to a store on Commercial Drive to get groceries when witnesses say an SUV blew a red light and hit the couple.
The 25-year-old driver allegedly left the scene, but turned herself in a day later. She was questioned and released. Police say she didn't have a driver's license.
The church was packed with mourner's family friends and colleagues from the native housing co-op where Bird worked.
The lack of closure is frustrating for some.
Bird's family says they've tried to focus more on supporting one another and remembering Dennis than on how he was killed.
"Interestingly, there have been no words of anger or bitterness towards the party that did this. That's a real tribute to the values he taught them,'' said William Bird.
They remembered Bird as a loving husband, father and grandfather, who went out of his way for everyone he met.
His last great act was pushing his wife out of the way when he saw the speeding car.
Madeline Bird will be going back to hospital for at least another month to recover from her injuries.
Police say it could still be weeks before charges are laid against the driver of the SUV. They say investigators are still looking at forensics and will have to recreate the accident.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry
