Mr. Jacques Gignac

Peacefully and surrounded by his family at home in Montreal, on the 4th of September 2022, Jacques Gignac, son of James Gignac and Jeanne Gigaire, has passed away at the age of 94. He is survived by his beloved wife Françoise Gignac (née Teisserenc) who was his extraordinary partner for over 64 years. He was a wonderful and generous father for his children, Guillaume (Freda Benoit), Sébastien (Marie-Chantale Lortie), Emmanuel (Pascale Dhombres), Marie-Félicité (Jean-François Paradis) and Marie-Flore (Patrick Dubé); and also an attentive and caring grand-father to his grandchildren: Héloïse, Éloi, and Olivia; Éléonore, Pierre-Emmanuel, Florence and Adelaïde; Alexandre, Augustin and Maximilien; Adrien and Anna (and their siblings, Frédéric and Xavier); and Raphaëlle and Benjamin.
He also leaves in bereavement his sister Ruth (late Victor Lambert), his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Colette (late Noël Énaud), Brigitte (late Philippe Teisserenc), Jacques Teisserenc (Mariette), Brigitte (late Philippe Donnadille), Xavier Teisserenc (Maguitte), Gilles Delaporte (late Marie-Christine), Pierre Teisserenc (Maria Jose), Henri Teisserenc (Annick) and Clotilde (Marc Soubeiran), and his many nephews and nieces, in addition to several relatives and friends.

A professional diplomat, he had an outstanding career serving his country for nearly 35 years in the Department of Foreign Affairs which he joined in 1958. He had, notably, the privilege of representing Canada as Ambassador over a period of 22 years, successively in Lebanon (and concurrently in Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia), in Tunisia, to the European Communities in Brussels, to the UN institutions based in Vienna, and, finally, in the Netherlands in addition to serving in Ottawa, including as assistant-secretary of state and assistant deputy-minister for External Affairs.
We will remember him as a man of conviction, a good and generous person, with a quick and open mind, curious, a person of great culture, and a lover of life, music, poetry, art, and history. Always at the service of others, with a unique sense of humor, he was a great and endearing family man, as well as a man of peace, concerned about freedom and justice.
We will miss him terribly and already do.

Our sincere thanks to all the people who share our pain or who will unite with us to honor his memory.
The family would like to thank all the doctors and nursing staff at the CHUM, the palliative care team at CLSC Côte-des-Neiges, Bien Chez Soi and Nova Home Care, as well as all those who accompanied him throughout his illness, which he bravely fought in recent months, for their kindness and dedication.
As an expression of sympathy, donations can be made to Oxfam Quebec, an organization in which he devoted several years of volunteering, and to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Suggested donations:
Oxfam Quebec  and Canadian Cancer Society

The family will receive condolences on Friday, September 23, 2022, from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Alfred Dallaire Memoria funeral complex in Outremont, at 1111 Laurier Avenue West, Montreal (Quebec) H2V 2L3.
A religious ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, followed by a reception starting at 12:30 p.m. at the Alfred Dallaire Memoria funeral complex in Outremont.
The burial will take place in the presence of the family and loved ones of the deceased at the Sainte-Flore cemetery in Shawinigan on Monday, September 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.

This notice serves as an announcement and thanks.

The broadcasting of the funeral will be on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 10am