Jean-Jacques Gagnon

Born on January 31, 1946 in Rivière-Ouelle,
Died February 2, 2016 in Québec City.

The love of my life.

On February 2, 2016, the love of my life, my beloved Jean-Jacques, peacefully passed away. Surrounded by his family, he left for his final voyage.

I cannot find the words to express how wonderful and attentive Jean-Jacques was. I still have a hard time finding the words to describe how much he will be missed by all of his family and friends.

Jean-Jacques spent his life taking care of people and soothing them as their health failed. He showed so much strength that we thought that he could battle any illness. It was easy to think that he was invincible.

When he talked about his career, he often told me that death was an important part of life and that it should be as gentle as possible. Thank goodness that is exactly how he passed away.

Jean-Jacques left a few of his thoughts here…parts of who he was. Please take a moment to read and enjoy them; they certainly incite us to reflect. I hope that his words will help to ease the grief we are all feeling.

Rest in peace, my wonderful husband.

- Rita

Helping others was his calling

After over 35 years practicing medicine, Jean-Jacques hung up his stethoscope for the last time in 2013 with a feeling that he served his patients well. He considered helping and healing others as his calling and a great privilege.


Even though he was happy to retire, every time he visited the hospital, a wave of nostalgia overcame him. Of course, being retired meant that he could enjoy his other passions. However, we always sensed that he never fully gave up his calling, which he described as a “passion and moral duty.”


He loved spending quality time with his family, after years of being constantly paged to go into work. But deep down, we knew very well that his new-found joy of gardening was really another way to take care of living things. :)


- Rita

Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.