THE funeral will take place in Co Tyrone today of a young father who died in Canada.
Johnny Hughes, who was from Coalisland, passed away on September 22 in a palliative care centre in Ontario.
The 35-year-old, who was a talented GAA player in his native Tyrone, has been described by his brother as "the greatest man with the biggest smile on earth".
His former football club, Clonoe O'Rahilly's, said Mr Hughes, whose nickname was Joker, had "an infectious smile and great sense of humour".
They described him as a popular member of the club and a key player on championship, winning minor, under 21 and reserve teams.
A spokesperson for the club said Mr Hughes scored the winning point for the reserves in the championship final in 2000 when he was just 16. It was the club's first ever reserve championship title.
He also played midfield on the minor championship winning team in 2001 and the same year won an under 21 championship before going on to win the Ulster competition that year.
The father-of-two had worked for McCloskey International which has offices in Coalisland and Ontario.
Tributes were paid to Mr Hughes on social media, where he was described as "one in a million", "a genuine guy and a gentleman" and "a beautiful soul".
Requiem mass will take place at the Church of the Holy Family in Coalisland at 10am, with interment afterwards in St Mary and St Joseph's Cemetery.
A celebration of Mr Hughes' life also took place last week in Peterborough, Canada.
The family requested that donations in lieu of flowers be sent to the ALS Society. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also known as motor neurone disease.
Mr Hughes is survived by his partner Danyell, children Jack and Grace, parents Pat and Liz, brothers and sisters Jackie, Sharon, Paul, Paddy, Joanne and Niamh, and the extended Hughes and Maguire families.
