More than 450 people gathered at the Saint-Urbain church this afternoon to pay their last respects to Régis Lavoie, one of the volunteer firefighters who died in the Charlevoix floods.
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During the ceremony followed the moving testimonies and prayers that the family wanted to sober up as the 55-year-old did.
“Take the time to live your pain,” the celebrant first told the crowd.
Then Régis Lavoie’s goddaughters spoke, filled with the sadness of having lost a loved one in such tragic circumstances.
“We could never have had such a good godfather,” said one of them, moving the audience to tears.
Since the deceased loved to laugh and have fun, the family had also scheduled times to emphasize this very important aspect, otherwise the ceremony would not have been complete.
Irvin Blais on site
The presence of singer Irvin Blais did not go unnoticed. The Gaspésien, a Quebec country icon, sang two songs, including one entitled: “My Father”, at the request of the deceased’s daughter, Marylou.
A friend of Mr Lavoie’s also played an accordion tune to wink at the firefighter, who always pulled out his favorite musical instrument when surrounded by loved ones.
For his part, the lieutenant of the Saint-Urbain fire brigade recalled that his colleague was a warm and pleasant man.
“He was a man of gestures, louder than words but important gestures […] Also one of Régis’ favorite moments: we put ourselves in a crescent moon and told each other stories,” he recalled, before sharing a few anecdotes that warmed the hearts of the firefighters affected by his departure.
fire sirens
After the ceremony in the church, firefighters from the nearby barracks, paramedics and police from Charlevoix formed a guard of honor for the exit of the funeral procession while the traditional bells rang.
The ashes of the deceased were given to his daughter Marylou, who symbolically took her place in a fire engine of the Saint-Urbain fire brigade.
The many trucks then activated the sirens and drove through the streets of the small community to drive Régis Lavoie to his final resting place in the local cemetery.
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