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John Clifford Gallant, 1929 - Oct 4th, 2001 John Gallant of Ottawa, Ontario was one of our one of our long time users, friends, and constant supporters. I have received several queries recently mentioning that his email address was no longer working. Sadly, we have found the news is not good. We regret to inform you that on October 4th, 2001, John passed away. He will be sorely missed by many - he was a constant collector and sharer of Acadian data, was quick to offer help to all. The following is a tribute to John from his friend, fellow researcher, and cousin, Gary Gallant:
"Our friend John Clifford Emmanuel Gallant, husband, father, grandfather and friend died on October 4, 2001 at the age of 72 from complications brought on by pneumonia.
Those close to him called him Joe. The last few years were not kind to John. He was hospitalized for knee replacement surgery on both knees and was inflicted with rheumatoid arthritis.
However these health problems did not deter him from his favourite pastime and pursuit which was his genealogical research, particularly of the Gallant family. He continued with this passion with love and precision in spite of his increasingly failing health.
John was the son of John Philippe Gallant of Egmont Bay and his second wife Mary Beatrice Edna Arsenault. On December 10, 1955 John married his wife Lucile Marie Reine Pelletier and would have celebrated their 46th year of marriage this year. She is the daughter of Albert Hector Pelletier and Marie-Ange Ranger. They had four children, 3 daughters and a son. They are Louise Mona, Karen Ann, Denise Yvonne and Keith Albert. Their grandchildren are; Christopher Marie, Jennifer Marie who are the children of Louise Mona, Kory Lee and Philip Michael sons of Karen Ann and James Warren son of Denise Yvonne.
I can't say that I was a good friend of John's, but I wish I had been. Personally I like to think I was John's friend, though we communicated mainly by e-mail and by regular mail. I did speak with John on the telephone on a few times, chatting about our family research and exchanging information.
I found him a jovial, kind and giving soul. I remember that on one occasion I had photocopied a book at the Acadian Museum in Miscocuhe, PEI about the Doucets of Rustico and brought it home for my own research. When I told John about this wonderful find he was green with envy. So not wanting him to stay green, I photocopied the entire book and sent it to him in the regular mail. This effort of mine represented a small expense and only about 45 minutes of my time. But judging by John's reaction one would think that he had won a million dollars. He was so excited. I did similar things with a few small periodicals and such to equal surprise and appreciation. This was John, and I was so delighted to have helped him in this small measure. Particular so, since I credit him with giving me the genealogy bug. He provided for me early on with a wealth of information from his enormous data base. It would have taken years to obtain this data in other ways and on my own. He also freely offered advice and assistance, which to this rookie was enormously appreciated. I was truly humbled by this man's dedication and single minded pursuit of that which not only brought him a keen sense of peace and usefulness, but also brought so much to all of us. This was John too, and I know that I was one of a large number of people whom he assisted freely with no strings attached. I would e-mail him at least once a week with queries on one thing or another. Sometimes I know I frustrated him and he might be a bit terse in his reply, especially if I misinterpreted what he was saying. But I was not offended at all. Then suddenly he would send me an e-mail thanking me for pointing out an error or a conflict of some type. But clearly, he was the teacher and I was the student. That's how I saw it. I just hope I can graduate in my pursuit without him.
The last few e-mails I sent to him went unanswered. I was not immediately alarmed. A few times in the past when this occurred he would eventually answer. It was these times when he had spent some time in the hospital and was out of commission that his computer was on standby. I got a charge out of him about a year or so ago when he bought a new computer. I guess he was getting tired and frustrated with his old PC so he went out and bought a Cadillac of sorts. He e-mails me and gushed happily about this new fangled machine with "all the bells and whistles!". A zillion gigs and a trillion megahertz, you know the kind? That was very funny. I envisioned him leaning over the PC late at night listening to his classical music downloads. He once told me about all the great sites to download classical music. I guess I'll have to look back and see when the last e-mail came from him. Then again, maybe I won't. It would likely make me miss him all the more. Some time ago when we spoke on the telephone I told him that I would drop in on him the next time I was up in Ottawa, since we had never met face to face. I wanted to take him out to dinner. I will visit you John the next time I'm in Ottawa, I promise. But I guess we'll have to settle for a coffee and a peaceful, meditative visit. Thanks friend." - Gary
Goodbye, old friend
Dave