Obituary of Maurice Lalonde
LALONDE, MAURICE (Ret'd Colonel RCAF) — Surrounded by his family, Maurice passed away peacefully at the Kingsdale Chateau in Kingston, Ontario on Wednesday November 21, 2018 in his 89th year.
Maurice, husband of Daphne (deceased from ALS in 1996), father of eight children (Jean (Louise), Pierre (deceased), Robert (deceased), Louise, Michelle (Gordon), André, Suzanne and Marc (Stephan)) and grandfather (to Jesse, Mandy, Kristal, Charlie and Louis) and great grandfather to Layla.
Maurice had a long and distinguished career as navigator and aeronautical engineer in the RCAF. Entering Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) in 1948 and graduating from the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston in 1952. Following an additional year of study at Queen's University, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He retired in 1986.
Maurice was a “true Canadian” who lived in as far west as Victoria, BC to attend RRMC (where he met his future wife Daphne) and as far east as P.E.I. in Summerside training at the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School where he got his navigator wings. Maurice and Daphne moved 18 times to accommodate Air Force postings and their ever increasing family size.
As a young athletic cadet at RRMC, Maurice took up the sport of fencing and eventually spent many hours learning to fence and competing in tournaments. He became an esteemed teacher and coach of the sport and was honoured to be the main organizer and Director of the fencing competition at the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics.
Upon retirement, he and Daphne bought a 125 acre farm in Yarker, ON and named it “Hollow Tree Farm” where they produced award winning maple syrup products, apple cider, organic garden vegetables, free range chickens and eggs. Together, they operated a “farm vacation” business with guests coming from all over including Canada, Europe and the US.
Since selling his Hollow Tree Farm business about a decade ago, Maurice moved on to other activities which more recently included gathering with dear friends, especially Anne, at the Kingsdale Chateau to play bridge, sharing a glass of sweet sherry and spending moments with his family.
A celebration of his life will be held at James Reid Funeral Home 1900 John Counter Boulevard, Kingston, Ontario on Sunday November 25 from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS Foundation in memory of Daphne or the Prostate Cancer Canada or a charity of your choice.
