HENRI JEAN CAMPAGNE

Condolences & Memories (11 entries)

• My Uncle Henri was a wise, kind and gentle soul with a beautiful smile. I loved going to visit on St. Jean Baptiste Street when I was young because the whole family made you feel welcome and warm. I know there is a special place for him. And his memory will live on with all of us. - Posted by: Joan Marshall (Neice) on: Oct 29, 2013

• Mes sympathies les plus sincères à toute la famille Campagne. Grand merçi à Mimi de m'avoir fait parvenir la triste nouvelle. Bon courage à vous tous. - Posted by: Denise Lavoie (Amie de la famille) on: Oct 29, 2013

• Nos sympathies pour toute la famille Campagne specialement pour Colette & Maurice. - Posted by: Laurent Denis( Larry) & Yvonne Trudeau (amis) on: Oct 29, 2013

• À mes cousins Campagne Sincères condoléances à vous tous. Je n'oublierai jamais le doux sourire de Mon Oncle Henri. Je ne pourrai vous accompagner pour ce dernier au revoir, mais je pense à vous. - Posted by: Aline Campagne (Nièce) on: Oct 28, 2013

• Our sincere condolences to you, Jeanne & family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Henri, you were always a kind and honest brother, whom we all looked up to. May you rest in peace until we meet again. Love, Marcel & family - Posted by: Marcel Campagne & family (brother) on: Oct 28, 2013

• Nos pensees sont avec Colette et Maurice ainsi que toute la famille a ce temps....union de prieres - Posted by: Jean et Claudette Normandeau (amis) on: Oct 28, 2013

• My sincere sympathy to Jeanne and loved ones. Henrie was a kind gentle person along with a smile to melt your heart. My fondest memories of this humble cousin will forever be etched in my mind. RIP Henrie. - Posted by: Anne- Marie Desautels (Cousin) on: Oct 27, 2013

• Nos condoléances Colette et Aimé ainsi qu, à toute la famille Campagne; sachez que nos prières et pensées se joignent à celles qui vous offrent appui. C'est de votre père que nous nous sommes procurés la tente roulotte familiale. - Posted by: Suzanne et Guy Gagnon (collègue) on: Oct 26, 2013

• Henri, Mon Frere Formidable, It’s hard to believe that my eldest brother, Henri, has left this world. As I think of the wonderful reunion that must be going on in Heaven right now (joyfully organized by our sister, France!) my mind is full of so many wonderfully detailed memories of ‘Mon Frere Formidable, Henri’. Henri was the master at explaining how stuff works. To those of us younger ones, he was like a 2nd father. My oldest recollection of this was when I was still a preschooler and a group of us were taken to the ranch to pick saskatoons, with Henri in charge. It was my first time to visit the ranch and we all went down the main coolie towards the well (la source) and stopped just above the well, where there was a big saskatoon patch. After a good go at the saskatoons, we proceeded to the well. Just below the well where the water flowed, I saw tree roots exposed by the flowing water, and I kicked at a root. I hurt my foot! The root was more like cement than wood. Everyone else had a good laugh at me, but Henri explained how there was something in the water that made the root that way, a process that ‘petrified’ the root. He knew a lot, our brother. And when Henri spoke, we listened. A few years later we started growing flax, and had bees. Henri was in charge of the bees, and no one else went too close to the bee hives. I remember how he got dressed to go to work with the bee hives. We all loved the honey; it was a big treat, especially during the dirty thirties. Henri would explain how bees do their thing, and that we were not to go too close, but could watch them going in and out of the hives from a distance. When the flax fields were in full bloom, the wind would make the field undulate like waves in the ocean, and Henri could explain why that was so. The farm-ranch headquarters was like a small town, with about 15 buildings, and there were all kinds of birds and animals around. We had several riding horses, but I never saw Henri riding a horse; his thing was mechanical technology, and there was plenty of that around. I remember him doing major overhauls on much of the farm equipment, including the good old 15-30 tractor. I loved watching him do that. The tractor engine was taken completely apart, and he would replace the piston rings, which had to be the exact circumference to fit around the pistons which went inside the piston sleeves. He used a special file to work on the ends of the rings until they were the perfect size; one more go with the file, I would see, and the ring was ready to be fitted in. When the tractor was all put together again, it was time for the big show. The tractor had a crank instead of a starter, which would have been too much effort to start it for the first time (after the overhaul), so Henri had to come up with another method. A rope was wound around the pulley that was used to drive a thrashing machine, and a team of horses were hitched to the end of the rope. Henri would give the signal for the first try; it took several tries, but then the tractor started! We all clapped our hands, and after a rough start, it ran better and better until it was purring. Henri was satisfied with the outcome, and it had been an exciting day on the farm. So many stories, so many wonderful times. Our paths have been long and varied, and often taken us in different directions, but as I think of you Henri, those early memories are as vibrant as if they’d happened yesterday. As most of you probably know, we Campagnes are related to Saint Jean Vianney, universally known as the Cure of Ars (greater Lyon, France. By now Henri will have met Jean Vianney, and will be part of our Large Family in Heaven. What a love-fest it must have been at the Golden Gate, and what a party must have followed! - Posted by: John Campagne (Brother) on: Oct 26, 2013

• Nous vous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances et nous serons par la pensée avec vous. Amitiés Tom et Danielle - Posted by: Thomas et Danielle Ivory (amis) on: Oct 26, 2013

• Adieu Mon Beau Papa, tu peux maintenant desormais te reposer, entre les mains de Dieu, je t'ai confiee,tu continuras de vivre dans mes pensees, dans mon Coeur ton souvenir et ton sourire restera graver. Tu resteras Celui que J'ai toujour Aimer, comme si le temps jamais ne nous avait separer. Je t'aime PAPA - Posted by: Emilienne Campagne (fille) on: Oct 26, 2013