Raoul Hector Jourdain – March 29, 1933 – January 16, 2020, Lunenburg, NS
Raoul Hector Jourdain was born March 29, 1933 to Captain Edgar Jourdain and Alvine Pelletier Jourdain in Cap Chat, Quebec. He was the youngest of six children. Growing up in a busy family on the Gaspe Coast he had his share of chores and the stories to match. He was not the most stellar student going through school so when he attended the Polytechnic School in Rimouski to study diesel engines and got excellent marks the teachers were sceptical. His natural gift for engine repair often meant scoring 100 but the teachers initially thought he was cheating – even though no one else’s marks even came close to his.
At the beginning of his career he worked on his father’s ships and then his brother’s including the MV Ungava and the MV Maid of Lahave. His sharp memory meant he could offer detailed accounts of his experiences, even decades later.
His father charged him with the refit of vessels, which brought him to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in the mid-1950s where he met Mary Patricia Ann Ritcey. They married January 11, 1958 in Lunenburg. They moved around Nova Scotia for a few years, living in Metaghan, Digby and Shelburne before moving back to Lunenburg in 1967 when Hector took a job with Atlantic Bridge Company (ABCO). He left ABCO in 1978 to take on a new role at National Sea Products as Corporate Marine Fleet Engineer. He traveled internationally as part of the company’s relationship with Deutz engines. When National Sea decided to do a massive refit of their fishing trawlers to build in freezer capacity, Hector oversaw that work in Pictou, NS traveling home to Lunenburg every weekend.
When Hector left National Sea in September 1991 he opened Lunenburg Marine Diesel, an engine repair business, out of his garage on Dufferin Street. His services were in demand far and wide as his reputation for his work was unsurpassed. He was not just skilled at diesel engine repair, he was a gifted machinist. He built parts he couldn’t find or didn’t want to pay for, which he continued to do right up to the months before his death. He was an accomplished wood worker as well. He had a brilliance for organization, order and patterns. His workshops and house had a place for everything and everything was in its place. He employed work around-strategies in his last years, finding ways to continue to take care of himself and to cook his meals at home.
In 1962 Hector and Mary adopted their daughter Katherine (Kathy) Anne and at the end of 1963 their son Robert Paul was born.
While Hector says that Mary was the love of his life (and she was), she had some competition. His pride, joy and passion was wooden boat cabin cruisers, first the Robert K and then his beloved Bluefin. He was the proud owner of the Bluefin for more than 30 years, beginning in 1981. He rebuilt that boat from stem to stern over the years and was a beaming Captain when it won awards at the Mahone Bay Wooden Boat Festival, year over year.
In 2008, Hector and Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Sadly that year, Mary was admitted to long term as a result of her dementia. Hector had been a loving, compassionate caregiver for her for many years prior to that and remained a daily visitor up until her passing in February 2012.
In his mid-forties Hector had his first triple by-pass open-heart surgery. Over the next 4 decades he accumulated a vast number of health issues and challenges including heart disease, lung disease, cancer, severe dehydration and more. His children say he tiptoed up to the edge of death many times, looked over and said, “No, not yet.” His recoveries often amazed his doctors. Hector was like the cat with nine lives and he finally reached the end. He passed quickly and peacefully at the VG Hospital with his daughter at his side and having had conversations with his son and grandchildren that day.
In addition to his wife, Hector was predeceased by newborn baby Michelle in the 1970s and by his parents and all of his siblings: Lucille and her husband Guy Gauthier, Jules and his wife Dorille, Claude (Madeline), Ferdinand (Bette) and Yolande and her husband Marcel Livernoche. He was also predeceased by Mary’s parents Captain Loran and Kathleen Ritcey and her brothers Jerome and Jack.
Hector will be deeply missed by son Robert Jourdain (Floyd Peters) in York, PEI; daughter Kathy Jourdain (Jerry Nagel) in Bedford, NS; grandchildren Shasta Tangri in Bedford, NS; Spencer Dwyer (Tori Portman) in Lower Sackville, NS; Jacob Dwyer (Penelope Dwyer) and great-grandson James Dwyer in Halifax, NS.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to the Dana L. Sweeny Funeral Home, 11213 Lunenburg, and from where visitation will be held on Friday, February 28, from 7-9 p.m. A mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday February 29 at 11: 00 a.m. at St. Norbert’s Roman Catholic Church, Lunenburg. Father Jim O’Connor officiating. Interment to follow in Hilcrest Cemetery, Lunenburg.
Donations can be made to SHAID, Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital and the QEII Foundation or a charity of your choice.
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Thursday January 16th 2020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Raoul Hector Jourdain Thursday January 16th 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Lunenburg, Province: Nova Scotia