October 25, 1914 – July 25, 2015
at the age of 100 years
Herb Duguay passed away peacefully Saturday, July 25, 2015 in his 101st year. Herb was a devoted father and husband. He was the son of Charlotte Coombes Mosses Duguay and David Owen Mosses, but raised as the son of Joseph Georges Duguay in Montreal. He was married to Alison MacMillan Duguay Baker for over twenty years. He was married to his beloved Lalita Ortlieb Fuson Duguay for fifty-three years. He had one daughter by birth, Shawn (John) Bird, and three children by the heart, Wayne Fuson, Stewart (Gail) Fuson, and Naomi Verbonac. He had 8 grandchildren: Veronica, Shane, Lalita, Jolene, Trista, Charlotte, Nicholas, and Kyle. He had 9 great-grandchildren.
Herb’s first memory was seeing the World War 1 soldiers coming home in 1919. Around this time he was run over by a brand new Model T Ford. We are thankful for their high wheel clearance.
He was an avid Boy Scout and saw Lord and Lady Baden-Powell when they came to Canada in the 1920s.
In the 1930’s Herb worked in quality control at Burroughs Wellcome Pharmaceuticals. As a result, he was a lifetime believer in the power of Polysporin.
He built bombers at Fairchild Aircraft in Montreal during World War 2 because the army didn’t want him. They said he had a bad heart. They were wrong. Herb was all heart.
He moved to Vancouver in the 1950s to start up Maco Industries with Reg Baker. For the next thirty years he travelled through Western Canada selling their products to building supply stores. He was proud of his ethics and the good relations that garnered him respect and openings everywhere, because he only sold products he believed in. He was still selling in the care home, pitching his daughter Shawn’s books to staff and residents at every opportunity.
He was a travelling salesman who never missed a school performance or event of significance.
Herb never walked past a child’s lemonade stand without buying a glass and chatting.
He always had a good dog to keep him company.
He was an avid tennis and table-tennis player throughout his life. Though blinded by macular-degeneration, he still played into his 80s with unerring accuracy. In the last few years, he was the goalie for the award winning Bastion Care Home floor hockey team. Until two weeks ago, he walked up 2 flights of stairs each day.
He was proud of the letter from the Queen for his 100th birthday. He was prouder of the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.
Herb was friendly, funny, honest, kind-hearted, and loyal. The world is a less gentle place without him in it. He was truly a “man of worth.”
Thanks to the Bastion Care Home staff. You were his favourites.
Obituary published here:
https://shawnbird.com/2015/07/25/obituary-herbert-mosses-duguay/