Livain Gallant
1932-2015
It
is with heavy hearts that the family of Livain Gallant announce his
passing on September 12th, 2015 at the Stella-Maris
hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent.
Born on May 31st, 1932 in
La Prairie, N-B, Livain was the son of the late André
Gallant and the late Obéline (Richard) Gallant.
Livain was a born businessman. At the age of ten, he ordered school
supplies from the closest town, and then sold them to his classmates
after the local store had closed its doors. He followed this path in
his teenage years, when he bought fish at the local wharves and
potatoes from neighboring farms, for door to door sales. His success
was noticed by wholesale companies from other provinces.
Hill brothers, Rose
Drygoods and Duchesneau-Trudeau
recruited him as their sales' representative for the Maritime
Provinces. Later, with a few partners, they opened their own company,
Richibouctou Wholesalers. At one time, he was the
sales rep for Laurentide Chemicals, a paint
company, greatly amusing his family who knew him to be
colorblind.
He was later drawn to
sales in the insurance field. Once again, he was sought after; this
time by Co-operators insurance. His
achievements here were also noteworthy, for in 1969, he was recognized
as the top 17th sales rep of the country.
He decided to open his own insurance company in 1972, Livain Gallant Insurance, where he was very proud to serve his clients before retiring, in 1994.
Livain was also an outdoor enthusiast who
loved fishing and hunting, and was often quite lucky. After
a good catch, he was known to tease his friends and sons. In
fact, he seemed to enjoy the teasing just as much as the
catch.
However, you were most likely to find him in his workshop, which he had assembled in his garage. There he would spend hours on end building various pieces of furniture for himself or his friends, but most often for his children, who would show him catalogue pictures of desired pieces. On most occasions, these were replicated without a pattern, and were always superior in quality and workmanship than the ones that had been asked for.
Although Livain was proud of his
accomplishments both in the business world and in his pastimes, he was
prouder still of his family, whom he leaves in mourning. Indeed, he
will be sadly missed by his sons, Blair (Marguerite) of Dieppe, Mike
(Nicole) of Aldouane, and Marc (Keitha) of Rexton, and by
his daughters, Paulette Girvan (John) of Rexton, Carolle
Arsenault (Louis) of Mundleville, and Rhéa Gallant (Charles
Richard) of Moncton. He will leave a void like no other in
the life of Gloria Arsenault, his loving companion of 25
years.
He will also be sadly missed by his sister, Melina Desaulnier (Rich) of Gardner, Massachusetts.
Livain also leaves behind
twelve grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his brothers, Edgar and Émile
and by his sisters, Rita, Edna and Laura. He was also
predeceased by Antoinette (Richard), his former wife and the mother of
their six children.
Visitation will be held at
Thompson Funeral Home in Richibucto on Wednesday, September
16th from 2:00 to 4:00 and from
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and from 9:00 am until the funeral ceremony, which
will be celebrated at the Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague church in Richibucto
on Thursday, September 17th at 11:00
am.
If desired, donations to palliative care at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent hospital would be appreciated.