“You don’t stop laughing when you get old, you get old when you stop laughing.”

When I googled this quote, it was attributed to several different people, so I’m just going to say it came from our beloved “pepere”; it was the motto he lived by.  My father-in-law, Victor Truchon, passed away peacefully on September 19th with my husband at his side singing to him; we will never again hear Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” without thinking of pepere. 

Our niece, Monique, gave a wonderful eulogy at the funeral.  She spoke for all of us when she talked about what a big role laughter plays in her memories of him.  She talked about the stories he would tell, and how he could never finish them without cracking up.  How he would do something funny like dancing a jig or making a face behind memere’s back to make his grandchildren laugh.  And how much he loved “potty humour”; I remember all of us playing “Things” one year at Christmas time and pepere’s answer to every question was something silly to do with farts or poop.  We would all laugh and shout pepere each time the answer was read!

60th Anniversary Celebration

He and memere truly had a beautiful relationship.  They talked and laughed all the time, and their love was always so obvious to anyone who spent time with them.  They took care of each other in a way that was inspiring for the rest of us.  September 30th would have been their 70th wedding anniversary; can you even imagine that?  After 70 years, I honestly believe that they still loved each other more with every passing day.  As a newlywed, Lisa thanked him for providing a wonderful example of care, love and warmth, and what it means to be in a meaningful relationship that stands the test of time.

My other strong memory is of his kindness.  Pepere truly lived the golden rule.  He was kind to everyone and treated them exactly the way he would hope to be treated; it’s no wonder everyone loved him wherever he went!  I remember feeling so welcome the first time I met Gilles’ parents; they made me feel like I was a valued member of the family from day one.

He was always so interested in what you had to say.  It didn’t matter what you were talking about – from Gilles having detailed discussions about asphalt, to Gisele describing life as a teacher, to grandchildren sharing the details of their latest interest whether it was dolls or school or hockey; he truly cared about what you were saying and actively participated in the conversation.  I can clearly remember his laughter when 7-year-old Bridget would imitate Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther; he would get her to do it over and over again!

At the cottage with some of the
“Grands” and “Great-Grands”

His two greatest loves were family and the outdoors; and whenever we gathered together at the cottage and those loves came together, he would beam from ear to ear.  He passed along his love of the bush, including a campfire, bush tea and a bologna sandwich, to his son and all of his grandchildren.  For the rest of their lives, they will raise their tea to toast pepere when they are around a campfire in the bush; as Phil said in his final message, “we’ll be four-wheeling on the other side before you know it, pepere”.

Of our children, only Bridget got a chance to visit and say goodbye in person, but our other three sent very heartfelt messages that brought a smile to pepere’s face in hospice.  They all talked about many of the things I have already mentioned, but in addition, Max and Erika sent a video of Erika playing the fiddle; it always brought a tear to his eyes when she played the fiddle, and this time was no exception.  They also all mentioned how amazing it was to have a pepere who could waterski with the handle behind his knees and do a handstand on his birthday until he was 75.

At the funeral home when we were saying our final goodbyes before they closed the casket, Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” was playing as part of the slide show put together by our nephew, Mike.  As memere was saying goodbye she looked up and said, “It truly was a wonderful life”.  We will all miss you pepere, but you can rest easy knowing that you made the world a better place for anyone who was blessed to know you!