There will be a bit of Félix Leclerc in the day of private funeral of actor, singer and senator Jean Lapointe which will be celebrated Saturday morning at the Saint-Viateur church in Outremont. A great friend of Mr. Lapointe, Félix Leclerc had written a poem for him in 1980. This will be read by actor Benoît Brière among the many tributes that will be delivered to the artist who died on November 18.
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During the 2019 edition of the Gala Les Oliviers, Jean Lapointe received the Merci pour tout prize, awarded for social and humanitarian involvement. The artist had then confided that this recognition made him plunge into his memories, in particular when his friend Félix Leclerc had paid tribute to him by inviting him to his home in December 1980 to read him a poem he had written for him.
It is this same poem that will be read by Benoît Brière on Saturday morning during the funeral of the singer-songwriter who died last November, a few days before he might celebrate his 87th birthday. And it is these beautiful words written by our great singer who found themselves on the souvenir bookmarks distributed during the Ardent Chapel of Jean Lapointe on Thursday evening.
It seems that Mr. Lapointe had been particularly affected by the phase “Well beyond his retirement, he will continue to leave buoys [ce qui faisait allusion à la Maison Jean Lapointe dont il est le fondateur]. Jean Lapointe, the generous. »
Personalities and tributes
The ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Saint-Viateur Church in Outremont.
Among the people who will take the microphone to pay a final tribute to Jean Lapointe on Saturday morning, during this funeral reserved for family members and close friends, we can count on his daughter, Anne Elizabeth Lapointe. The one who often sang on stage with her famous father will sing a capella Complaint to my brothera piece sung by his dad and covered by many artists.
Singer Marie-Élaine Thibert will sing Jean Lapointe’s popular song If we sang together whose album of the same title was released in 1983 as well as sick flowers from 1991. Singer Frayne McCarthy will deliver I Believe/What a Wonderful World.
Two of Jean Lapointe’s children, Jean-Marie and Marie-Josée, will also speak to honor their father. On the side of the political scene, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, as well as the former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien will also speak.
Several well-known Quebec personalities are also expected at the Saint-Viateur church, including the general president of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau.
Although the ceremony is reserved for family and close friends of Jean Lapointe, Quebecers will be able to follow everything live while the major networks will provide coverage of the event.
Félix Leclerc’s poem to Jean Lapointe
Few guitars surrender to tuning.
I want to tell you regarding a man who came to the agreement.
It is a phenomenon without hatred, without revenge, without resentment,
A man returned from several wars,
He has become one of the great entertainers of our country.
The institution, the emotion, the humor, the wonder
Are the qualities of great artists.
Does he have them all? I believe him. Well beyond his retirement,
he will continue to throw buoys!
Jean Lapointe, the generous
– Felix Leclerc, Île d’Orléans, December 1980
