Obituary of Gerard Joseph Lapierre
Gerard (Gerry) Lapierre passed away on March 24th peacefully surrounded by his family. He lived a full life of 85 years. He grew up east of Marcelin on the family farm with his two brothers and three sisters. He loved the land and was a farmer until he passed. He was looking forward to putting in the 2022 crop. Gerry started his education at the heels of his father, Alex. At six, he went to Skipton country school, then to Marcelin, and onto Gravelbourg College. Learning came easy for Gerry. He started his farming career behind his father’s horses and finished last year running modern equipment that was controlled by several computers.
Gerry loved sports and was the manager of the Junior Knights for years in Shellbrook which led to many lifelong friendships. He played softball, slow-pitch, broomball, bowled, and didn’t shy away from many athletic challenges. This winter he went ziplining. He became a good golfer in later life and enjoyed dancing and playing cards. No matter what the activity was, Gerry bonded easily with every new acquaintance.
Gerry met his first wife, Leona, in Coniston, Ontario, and after a couple of years brought her and their son, Rick, home to work with his brother, Joe, on the family farm. Their family grew to four by adding Leanne, Denis, and Daniel. Together Gerry and Leona built a wonderful life, until in 1987 when he lost the love of his life to cancer. In 1994, Gerry met the next love of his life, JoAnne, playing slow pitch. They married the following year and started a whole new set of adventures. Gerry and JoAnne traveled the continent in their motorhome and even wintered in Arizona for a couple of years. They purchased a park model and Gerry spent twelve winters playing golf and poker while enjoying the warmth of the Arizona sun.
The next big adventure was buying a cabin at Chitek Lake and making that home base in the summer. Many wonderful hours were spent fishing, eating, quadding, snowmobiling, and visiting while watching the fire go out in the backyard of the cabin.
Gerry’s life was full of love, from his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so many family and friends. We will all miss him dearly while knowing we were blessed by his unique blend of humor, honesty, easy charm, and undeniable backbone.
Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at St. Joseph's Parish, Marcelin, SK. Memorial donations in Gerard's honor may be directed to the Kidney Foundation of Canada: Saskatchewan Branch 116 103 St. E A3, Saskatoon SK. S7N 1Y7. Family and friends wishing to send online condolences are welcome to visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home and Crematorium, Lori Saam Funeral Director, Shellbrook, SK 306-747-2828.
