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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 30, 2015 | 6 Max Khan had a huge smile and a love of life by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Spotlight "Connected to your Community" The late Max Khan will be remembered as a good leader, a good Canadian and a good human being. Those were some of the words chosen by Max's father, Mahmood Khan, and colleagues to depict the Town councillor at a public memorial held Friday at Oakville Town Hall. It was organized by World Islamic Mission (WIM) Canada, with Dr. Mansoor Khan, Max's brother, as the host. The Atrium was lled to capacity as residents, councillors and dignitaries gathered to honour Khan, a father and Bay Street trial lawyer, who died suddenly in March at the age of 46. "He was a good human being. If somebody is not a human being, he cannot be a good Canadian, cannot be a good person. He has to be a good human being. He was thinking about other people," said Mahmood. "As you can see, many people are loving him, had been looking after his interests and helping him out." Mahmood said he prays to "give me patience, give me courage" to forget Max's work and what he has done for the family, but it's not possible. "I cannot forget. I humbly request all of you, please pray for him for his place in heaven. He has done what he was supposed to do. Only one regret I have, that what he wanted to do, he did not accomplish his mission," said Mahmood. Max was an Oakville resident for more than 25 years Khan was known for his work on council, in the community and as a federal riding Liberal Party candidate, he was the candidate in the new Oakville-North Burlington riding. He demonstrated Islam's message of peace through his actions, Mahmood said. "If one person can bring that many people together, if we all work together, we can change this world. I hope we will keep on doing that and his spirit will be happy if we accomplish something," said Mahmood. Mayor Rob Burton presented Mahmood with the Community Award of Excellence in recognition of Max's service and dedication. Burton said Max was a great champion of the people, who can "live on in us, if we will only learn from him and follow him." He called the late Town councillor a great civic leader and a life leader. "In return for the example he set, the joy he spread and all the good he achieved, we owe it to him to remember the kind words he left us with: `Educate ourselves and set an example of kind- In return for the example he set, the joy he spread and all the good he achieved, we owe it to him to remember the kind words he left us with: `Educate ourselves and set an example of kindness.' All that is left is to go forth and live the life that Max showed us how to live." Mayor Rob Burton Oakville Ward 5 Town Councillor Marc Grant: "What I'm going to carry with me is the reminder that Max was always that kind of person who would make you feel like you had to do something better, you had to be kind to be better. There are times when I want to kind of remember Max in my own way, and maybe it's something all of us can do, is every day nd a few people, make them smile and ask them to pay that forward." Ward 6 Town/Regional Councillor Tom Adams: "Many times I have said that Ward 6, (which) we represented together, is like the United Nations. It includes people from all over the world, from all different kinds of religious backgrounds. Max worked equally hard for every one of them. He represented them with pride and he represented them to get them the best deal that he could get on whatever it may have been. He certainly stood up for the little guy." Ward 4 Regional Councillor Allan Elgar: "He was truly a guy that cared for anybody, but himself. It was never about Max. If you really listened to him, he never said how he was doing. He would always ask how you were doing. If there was a job that needed to be done, anything outside of council, Max was one of the rst ones to be there. It was admirable to watch a man with the gusto he had." Ward 2 Town/Regional Councillor Cathy Duddeck: "One of the most cherished gifts Max shared with us was his positive outlook on life. He loved life and it showed whenever he entered a room with that huge smile and the bounce in his step. We could all learn from his outlook on life -- cherish each day, treat your fellow man and woman with respect, and above all, enjoy yourself." NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Mahmood Khan, left, father of the late Max Khan who was a Ward 6 councillor and Liberal Party candidate for the Oakville-North Burlington riding, accepts a Community Award of Excellence in recognition of his son's service and dedication from Oakville Mayor Rob Burton at a memorial service Friday at Town Hall. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) ness.' All that is left is to go forth and live the life that Max showed us how to live," said Burton. Khan had battled leukemia several times in his life and left council for nearly four months as he fought a relapse of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He then returned to his council post in February 2012. Ontario Labour Minister and Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn said the impact Max had on the community is "something that I underestimated." "I didn't know how many people knew that one gentleman, who was simply known by the name Max. You said Max and you instantly knew who it is," said Flynn. When you meet someone like that, "you realize the breadth of Max's in uence on the community was something most of us could only wish to have," Flynn said. The Oakville MPP noted he met Max regularly to have political conversations at formal or informal places such as coffee shops. He never had "one cross word with Max in my entire life," the labour minister said. "There were things we didn't always agree on, but when it was time to sit down and discuss our own political futures or the political futures of others, I knew that Max and I would approach it in a way that I simply can't do with other people," said Flynn. Town councillors also shared their recollections of Max and the impact he had on them and the community. Ward 2 Town Councillor Pam Damoff: "I've had the great honour to be his team captain in the Terry Fox Run for the last three years. Max would show up, grab me off my feet and put me in his arms and we would get a picture taken. He had such a zest for life and such a way with people...I don't think there's ever been anyone like him before and I don't think there will ever be anyone like him again." Volume 53 | Number 34 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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