Legendary host, singer, producer and businessman Pierre Lalonde spent the last years of his life in this house. His wife and widow, Clare Lewis, 70, has since been reluctant to separate but had to put up with it as the house had grown too big. Jean-Pierre Lalonde, his son who is a real estate agent, was commissioned to sell it. He took us on a tour of this house full of memories.
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“Even though I’m used to selling real estate, I admit that there is something special about selling your parents’ house. We didn’t grow up here because we left the family nest when we bought it. We still had many unforgettable moments there: family weekends, Christmas parties and Thanksgiving. After my father’s death, my twin sister held her wedding reception there, but it’s also where we all gathered after our father’s funeral,” says Jean-Pierre Lalonde, 41, the only boy of these almost exclusively female siblings, who also include Marie- Clare owns his twin, as well as Alexandra and Andréa.
Pierre Lalonde died on June 21, 2016 at the age of 75, jealously guarding his personal life from the limelight. Until now, no journalist or photographer had passed through the doors of this majestic house that was his last refuge. “The last five years of my father’s life were very difficult because of his illness. At first his hands trembled a bit and he occasionally had small memory lapses. After being shocked to learn he had Parkinson’s, he experienced another when he saw his driver’s license revoked. I think that’s when he realized the extent of his illness. Even if the best doctors took care of him and he was followed very well, fate was thrown, “explains his son sadly.
Did Parkinson’s lead to dementia or vice versa? After his death, his wife revealed that he suffered from Lewy body disease, which Robin Williams also suffered from before his death in 2014. “He had Parkinson’s disease, then he gradually descended into dementia. He had sudden mood swings and sometimes hurtful words. It was very difficult for my mother, who took care of it until the end.
Paul Ducharme / VAT
A welcoming home
Before acquiring this magnificent property, which sits on a 40,000 square foot lot and includes six bedrooms and five bathrooms, Pierre Lalonde, his wife and their four children lived on the shores of Lac des Deux-Montagnes in the village of Senneville. Jean-Pierre tells us why his parents moved to Hudson, to such a big house. “They always wanted there to be enough space to welcome us all. It was my mother’s grandfather who first settled in Hudson. He and his family spent all their summers there. This house is made of solid and high quality materials. It’s in my parents’ image: classy, without frills, warm and welcoming, as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside,” he says, admiring the place, but most of all his parents, who were united for 45 years.
happy memories
One of the house’s 23 rooms was the favorite of an entire generation’s idol. “He loved the living room. Often he and my mother spent a long time there after dinner, sitting in front of a fireplace and drinking a glass of wine. I liked the dining room better when we all sat around the table. My father enlivened the conversations and my mother paced the kitchen to put the lovingly prepared dishes on the table.
Paul Ducharme / VAT
Other fond memories include the show series in 2001, 2003 and 2007 where he sang a duet with his father on the stage of the Casino de Montréal for some songs. Then there are the rounds of golf together: both big fans of the sport competed against each other to impress each other. “I had time to tell him how much I loved him. If he was more demonstrative in my youth and a little less in my youth because of his upbringing, as he got older he lost his vigilance. We had a great relationship. And I thanked him a thousand times for giving me such a beautiful life!” he says full of gratitude about his only son.
Ready to move on without forgetting
He and his mother and sisters will soon have to move on to a new chapter. “This house is designed for a large family. Of course I will feel a pang in my heart, but also a sense of relief. I’ll miss not coming here again, but then again, I’ve decided to settle down in Hudson. I will soon have my office there,” says the real estate agent, who specializes in the sale of high-quality homes.
In 2017, Jean-Pierre Lalonde said on the cover of our magazine: “I miss my father very much”. What does he say in 2022? “That I still miss him very much. I think of him every day. I wear his watch and I have many pictures of him at my house. I inherited his voice and business acumen. The older I get, the more I wish I could ask her questions about life. It looks like that’s where I need him the most,” he says, touched. Then, as our families have bonded over several decades and my paternal grandparents had known his, we promised to talk more often.
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