Generation 8

Léandre Comeau was born March 19, 1903 in the small village of Beresford, New Brunswick. Léandre is the son of Jean Comeau & Marie Pitre.

In the same village, he will be wed on January 3, 1928 to Éveline, daughter of Joseph Frenette & Hélène Jane Boudreau. THis young couple will live with Jean Comeau & Marie Pitre, Léandre's parents.

Léandre & Éveline will bring up their sixteen children in the same house. However, Léandre will have to expand the house and add a second story to answer the growing needs of his large family.

     Léandre Comeau - 19 years old

Like many Acadians of his village and like his father before him, Léandre Comeau will fulfill the needs of his family by fishing and farming.

             Léandre Comeau - August 1948                        Clovis, son of Léandre Comeau - July 1949

Among the childhood memories of his daughter Jeannette, she remembers travelling by horse cart early in the morning for a 10 kilometer ride to Bathurst. "We had to get up early if we wanted to accompany Dèdè when he went to sell vegetables to the houses in Bathurst. In exchange, Dèdè would buy flour & sugar. Sometimes, we would stop in at Kent's, a large department store in Bathurst. They had large bins containings cookies which they sold by the pound. It was quite a treat in those days when Dèdè would buy us a cookie."

The Comeau Family in 1948

To help support his family, Léandre became a lumberman et had to leave his family for many weeks during the winter. He would return in the Spring just in time for planting and fishing.

In 1959 - Picking wild berries
Left to right: Léandre, Noëlline, Lucienne, Lauraina, Éveline, Arthur

While growing up, the children will contribute more and more to answer the needs of the family. They help with the farm work and participated in berry picking expeditions (wild strawberries and raspberries as well as nuts) and dug for clams. A diet rich in fish, meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables would ensure that they would grew up healthy into adulthood.

June 1955 - A clam feast
In front: Arthur, Lucienne, Angela
Behind: Noëlla, Noëlline, Yvonne, Lauraina

During the Fall of 1961, Léandre Comeau went to the hospital when he suffered from chest pains. A nurse gave him morphine for the pain and he returned home. On October 3rd of the same year, Léandre sat down in his Lazy Boy thinking he was suffering from indigestion. However, what he was feeling were the warning signs of a heart attack which is how he died at the age of 58.

Les enfants de Léandre Comeau et d'Éveline Frénette

Picture taken in October 1961 following the funeral of Léandre Comeau

Sitting from left to right: Bertha, Yvonne, Jeannette, Cécile, Clovis

Standing from left to right: Elva, Angela, Edgar, Raymond, Simone, Lionel

On the stairs, left to right: Noëlline, Noëlla, Lauraina, Arthur, Lucienne