Excitement and anticipation turned to unfathomable grief in an instant when the wife of hockey star Johnny Gaudreau learned her husband and his brother, Matthew, had been killed by an alleged drunken driver last summer.
Meredith Gaudreau was on the front porch of her husband’s parents’ house when she was told he and his brother died after they were hit while riding their bikes on a Salem County road.
She was in shock. “I was keeled over for days sick to my stomach,” she wrote. “I couldn’t stand up. I was awake and having nightmares.”
She had recently told Johnny she was expecting their third child. His sister was supposed to get married the next day.
And now the family was planning a funeral for the brothers.
Meredith Gaudreau shared her memories of the day of her husband’s death along with many joyful memories of life with her “dream guy” in a love letter she wrote to her husband to mark the first Father’s Day without him.
She presented thepersonal message to the world in an essay posted Thursday on the sports website The Players’ Tribune.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew R. Gaudreau, 29, were struck and killed on the evening of Aug. 29, 2024, as they bicycled along a rural road in Salem County.
Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck and killed by an allegedly intoxicated driver as they rode their bikes in Salem County last August.(File Photos)
Prosecutors say Sean M. Higgins, 44, of Pilesgrove, was intoxicated when he struck the men. He’s charged with aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
As the court case drags on, the Gaudreau family is left to mark milestones — holidays, birthdays, anniversaries — without the two beloved brothers.
Johnny Gaudreau played 11 seasons in the NHL, while Matthew Gaudreau was a college hockey player and later a coach. Their deaths shocked the international hockey world.
The wives of both brothers were pregnant at the time of the crash.
Meredith Gaudreau, Johnny’s widow, later announced the couple’s third son, Carter Michael Gaudreau, was born April 1.
Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s widow, announced the birth of the couple’s son, Tripp Matthew, in December.
Meredith’s letter to Johnny begins with her describing the day they met in 2018. From there, she recalled discovering that the man she was dating was a hockey star for the Calgary Flames.
The couple’s lives grew intertwined and she remembered in her letter the big moments, including the day he proposed, the day they learned they were expecting their first child, and the day Johnny made the tough decision to leave Calgary to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
She also recalled the day she lost Johnny and the difficult journey that has followed.
As Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau navigate life without their husbands, they’ve also found time to honor the brothers’ legacies.
The widows are co-presidents of the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation, formed to promote and expand youth ice hockey opportunities, help hockey families facing tragedies and assist families affected by drunk driving.
“The Foundation’s purpose is to continue giving back to what the boys are passionate about and to ultimately continue to make a positive impact on the world in their honor,” the widows wrote on the group’s website.
The family also recently hosted the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Run, Walk & Family Fun Day in Gloucester County. The event raised funds for a new adaptive playground at Archbishop Damiano School in Westville.
The special education school serves students with cognitive disabilities. The Gaudreau brothers’ mother and sister work at the school and a family member was a previous student.
Stories by Matt Gray
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.