COMEAU, Roland Camille

Age 79, of Meteghan River. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Roland Camille Comeau on May 30, 2023. In his final days, he was surrounded by those who loved him and whom he loved. He was courageous, brave, stoic, and positive until the very end.

Born in the Halifax Infirmary on January 14, 1944, he was the son of the late Camille and Delima Comeau. He was a natural athlete, discovering the game of baseball at a very early age. He maintained until the end that this was his favourite sport and had so many great memories to entertain all who were willing to listen. He loved sports so much that he pursued a degree at the University of Ottawa in Physical Education and, upon graduation, he became a Phys. Ed. teacher at what was then known as the Clare District High School. Through the years, he developed a passion for other sports and became a beloved volleyball coach both for the high school teams and for teams at Université Sainte-anne. As his children became involved in sports, he also coached for the Clare Minor Hockey Association and for minor baseball and softball in Clare. He played hockey, curled, and loved playing golf. In the last few years, he also helped to coach and do land training for the youth competitive swim team, les Aquadiens de Clare, for which his granddaughter, Anya, swam.

Roland was an intellectual. He loved to crack the clues in The Chronicle Herald’s New York Times crossword puzzle every Saturday, often competing with his close friends to see who would finish first. He also loved Jeopardy and was unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit.

Roland also cared so very much about others. He volunteered for so many causes throughout his life. At various times in his life, he was a volunteer member of the Nova Scotia Kidney Foundation, the Meteghan Lion’s club, the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation, Les Aquadiens de Clare Swim Team, the Meteghan Church committee and the Clare Golf and Country Club to name a few. He also helped many people learn how to read and write.

Roland switched careers later in life and started to work in the insurance world. He eventually became the manager at J.H. Deveau Insurance, Ltd. in Meteghan. We often heard stories about how much he had helped community members in times of great difficulty.

After his retirement, you could find Roland at the Clare Golf and Country Club with his friends or logging with his son-in-law, Aaron, a hobby that he grew to love in his later years.

Roland and his wife, Claudette, also loved traveling. He traveled annually to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida with his family to attend the International Food and Wine Festival in Epcot. He was very fortunate to have visited many places such as Ireland, France, Austria as well as many other locations in Europe while on bus tours and river cruises with friends and family. He enjoyed his travels to Bermuda, Louisiana, Iceland and to many places in Central and Western Canada. His passion for travel was fueled by his love of history and he was intrigued by exploring the culture and gastronomy of each location.

Dad also loved all types of music. Even in his final months, he often wanted to listen to several songs and to be surrounded by music. He was fascinated by the musical talent of others. He also often connected songs with meaningful moments in our lives. In the last few months, we often reminisced about different memories those songs brought to mind.

He was an amazing and caring son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, father, father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend. He cared so deeply about everyone in his life and was always there if you needed him, without hesitation. He was so supportive of everything we did. He leaves a huge hole in all our hearts. But our lives are so much better for knowing him. He taught us love, appreciation, gratitude, respect, patience, generosity, courage, positivity, humility, and strength. So many life lessons could be learned by just spending a moment with him. He was our True North. He was so very humble and understated.

He leaves many grieving loved ones behind. His wife, Claudette Comeau; motherin-law, Evangeline Deveau; sisters, Marina Saulnier of Sackville; Jeanette Leblanc (Louis) of Saulnierville, Maria Comeau of Meteghan River; his children, Janelle Comeau (Aaron Vanclief) of Saulnierville; Jean-guy Comeau (Corinne) of Meteghan River; grandchildren, Arielle Comeau (Brian Jones) of Sackville; and Anya Vanclief (Nathan Tufts) of Saulnierville; as well as his beloved great-grandson, Elliot Comeau-jones. He also leaves behind his brothers-in-law, Alain Deveau (Carol Anne) and Paul Deveau; sister-in-law, Vivian Comeau; many nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind many fur grandchildren, Punkin, Casey, Hershey, Arya, Molly and his best friend until the end, Sparrow. Roland leaves behind many grieving friends. This is especially true of his camping gang and golfing buddies.

He was predeceased by his parents, Camille and Delima Comeau; father-in-law, Raymond Deveau; sister, Rosella Saulnier; brother, Raymond Comeau; sister-inlaw, Madeleine Deveau; brother-in-law, Ralph Saulnier.

At this time, we would like to thank the following people for their support in the last few months: his three best friends Jean Soucie, Desire Leblanc and Donald Doucet for their unwavering support. The Victorian Order of Nurses (especially Emma, Holly, Kylie, Simone and Denise) and Amanda from Palliative Care, your support was invaluable; Dr. Alant (and his residents and nursing team), Dr. Ha (and his residents and nursing team), Dr. Whittemore (for spending time with us and discussing Disney), Dr. Lasher and especially, Dr. Gisele Dugas, for always being there; his team of caregivers who stayed with him until the end and to all those who contributed in some way – we appreciated it all so much and cannot thank you enough.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Meteghan Funeral Home. A public graveside service will be held on Saturday, June 3rd, at 11 a.m. in Stella Maris Cemetery, Meteghan.

In lieu of flowers, and at Roland’s request, all donations in his memory can be made to the Clare Golf and Country Club by writing a cheque payable to Clare Golf and Country Club. All contact info can be found at: claregolf.ca/contact-us