Gerard L’Esperance, long-time member of the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker community, has died.
He was a very sweet person and will be missed.
Many years back I did a quick interview with him for this blog, which gives a sense of his gentleness.
His obituary:
Gerald L’Esperance was born February 27, 1929 in Worcester, MA. He passed away on April 28, 2020 from the COVID-19 virus.
Predeceasing him are his parents Leo and Orise (Laperle) L’Esperance and his siblings Hector L’Esperance, Gertrude (L’Esperance) Blaquiere, Marie-Ange (L’Esperance) Larocque, and Paul L’Esperance.
He leaves his sister Aurise (L’Esperance) Gagne of Sutton, MA and brother Marcel L’Esperance of Japan. He also leaves his niece and caregiver Alice Blaquiere, and nieces Helen (L’Esperance) Picard and Jackie (L’Esperance) Vigeant whom always had him over their homes for the holidays; a large extended L’Esperance, Blaquiere, Larocque, and Gagne family of nieces and nephews that he enjoyed so many special occasions with, and many other nieces and nephews and cousins.
Gerard graduated from Assumption Prep in 1947 with high honors. He was a humble, gentle soul. He was a very intellectual man and an avid reader. He was a talented piano player and he had an artistic talent. One of the biggest things about Gerard was his great faith in God. His favorite quotes were “Hope, pray, and don’t worry” as well as “Worry does not add one day to your life”. He lived alone for many years and would often go to the senior center. His favorite restaurant was the Pickle Barrel where he celebrated his 90th birthday. His nickname to a lot of his friends was Gerry. In the last three years of his life he resided at Worcester Health Center. Special thanks to Carrie Ann whom was his favorite nurse and buddy, she took great care of him.
Up till his passing Gerard was very aware and loved his way of life. He always said he wanted to live to be 100 years old but sadly the coronavirus took that away from him. Gerard lived a full life and in the hearts of those who knew him he will always have made it to 100 years old.
He had a private funeral at St. Joseph’s Church and was entombed at Notre Dame Cemetery on May 2, 2020. He was blessed to have a small funeral Mass and is at peace in the arms of Jesus.
