Children and relatives of the great Jean Lapointe used Saturday’s final tribute to relive the most touching and intimate moments they had with the conqueror of his demons.
• Read more: [EN IMAGES] Jean Lapointe’s funeral: his relatives bid farewell in the storm
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Jean-Marie Lapointe had a light heart as he appeared at the microphone before hundreds of people in the enclosure of the Saint-Viateur church.
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His son was Jean-Marie Lapointe
Stressing the “importance of making peace”, she says she fully enjoyed her last moments with her father, despite health problems.
“We showed our love in our eyes […], in small gestures, even in silences, he said. We have nothing to settle. All told. »
“This may be our last year. This may be our last defeat for the Canadians, this may be our last Christmas party,” Jean-Marie Lapointe said to herself.
A significant return
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His daughter was Marie-Josie Lapointe
Marie-Josie, born from another union with Jean Lapointe, also echoed a “complicated” childhood, particularly in the absence of her father.
Over time, they have rebuilt the bridges.
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His daughter Catherine Lapointe, one of the artist’s seven children
“My dad’s biggest legacy to Daniel, Michael and me is that he came back. A gesture that paved the way for his recovery and ours,” she summed up.
This made it possible to accumulate precious memories with his father’s other children.
Photo by QMI Agency, Mario Beauregard
His wife is Mercedes
“Only moments spent at the Mercedes table [la conjointe de Jean Lapointe] I prepared delicious raclette and smoked salmon dishes for us,” he quotes, adding that he has been abstinent for five years.
Deep values
Photo by Martin Alary
On the sidelines of the ceremony, under the falling snow, Jean Lapointe’s ashes were carried in a wooden casket.
Through his ups and downs, Jean Lapointe insisted on always being authentic and focusing on what really mattered, his son says.
For example, the actor had a gambler’s side and a knack for collecting works of art, Jean-Marie Lapointe recalled.
When it came time to sell something of special value in his son’s eyes, Mr. LaPonte begged him to cut himself off from material possessions.
“Appreciate what you have now. While we have it,” he hammered.
Jean-Marie Lapointe also praised the former senator for expressing his emotions, especially in the last years of his life.
He also mentioned a particular moment when he was 10 or 12 years old when his father broke down in tears on stage during a grand premiere at the Place des Arts.
“You can be beautiful by being vulnerable,” she maintained, who died at the age of 86. “Thank you, Dad, for teaching me all this. There is no legacy to back it up,” concluded Jean-Marie Lapointe.
-With Jessica Potsow, QMI Agency
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