Miriam Godziuk remembered at Voyageurs playoff game

With heavy hearts, the Bonnyville Voyageurs took to the gridiron on Friday, to not only play a quarterfinal game vs the Lloyd Comp Barons, but to remember a daughter, trainer, and integral part of Bonnyville Amateur Football.

Miriam Godziuk was just 22 years old when she passed away on Sunday, Oct. 16. The daughter of coach Larry, Miriam was a bantam football player and for years acted a trainer for the Voyageurs.

Before kickoff last Friday night, those in attendance dropped off flowers and wrote memories they had of Miriam, as assistant coach Kevin Sartain delivered a heartfelt message.

On short notice, the Barons agreed to move the game from their home field to Walsh Field, recognizing the importance of the situation.

Lloydminster took the game 36-12 to advance to the Wheatland Football League semifinals against the Holy Rosary Raiders, but so far over $10,000 has been raised in a GoFundMe drive to start a nursing scholarship in Miriam’s memory.

“We are not the first parents in our community to lose a child. Certainly not a recommendation for any family member. But the tremendous amount of support that we’ve gotten has made this very difficult situation tolerable. And the football guys have been fantastic,” said Larry Godziuk after the game. 

“Miriam and Gregory both spent a considerable amount of time here at the field or at the track with me. And I’ll cherish that forever.” 

Although the Voyageurs season is now over, there was momentum to close out the contest.

Bonnyville scored back to back touchdowns to finish the game and end the year on a high note.

“We put a lot of heart into this program. And it’s nice to see them succeed,” said Godziuk. 

“We have one more win than last year. So we’re a better team than last year. And I really think that we’d be even in a better team next year.” 

Before kickoff, Kevin Sartain praised the Barons for coming to Bonnyville, calling their organization “first class.”

“We are here tonight with heavy hearts and in great sorrow. We are here tonight, not only to remember a wonderful young woman, who has left us…but also to honour her and her memory. We gather here tonight to tell her father Larry, her mother Jennifer, and her brother Gregory that we love them. And we love her, and in our hearts is where we will keep Miriam. We are here to show them that their pain and their sorrow is our pain and our sorrow,” said Sartain.

“Miriam was going to be a nurse and now others will walk that path in her stead through the Miriam Godziuk Scholarship Fund that will give financial assistance for those following her dream. And Larry, if this is something you and your family would like to see continue throughout the years, I promise you, come hell or high water, the Bonnyville Amateur Football Association will see this through.”