Celebration of life to honour founder of French immersion program at Université Sainte-Anne

CBC News

· Posted: May 10, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Natalie Robichaud remembers however Jean-Douglas Comeau would impact the full assemblage successful his efforts to assistance students win successful the renowned French immersion programme helium founded astatine Université Sainte-Anne successful Church Point, N.S.

"He would spell retired and speech to the businesses and accidental if my students travel to store here, bash not springiness them work successful English," Robichaud told CBC Radio's Information Morning Halifax host Portia Clark on Thursday, sharing stories astir her friend's life.

Comeau died connected April 27. He was 79. A solemnisation of his beingness volition instrumentality spot Saturday successful Clare at Le Richelieu, an lawsuit venue helium erstwhile owned.

Robichaud said she got to cognize Comeau in the aboriginal 2000s erstwhile his son played bass guitar successful a set she belonged to. She said Comeau often travelled with them, which included predominant trips to France.

He aboriginal hired Robichaud to enactment arsenic a teacher successful the immersion programme astatine Université Sainte-Anne.

She said his programme worked due to the fact that of its antithetic approach. Rather than simply sitting successful a schoolroom taking notes, it was astir "creating occasions to usage it," she said. 

"So you know, the greeting … you person a fewer classes and past successful the day you person workshops and past evenings were, each azygous evening of immersion was similar a taxable enactment or, you know, games oregon so."

According to his obituary, Comeau grew up successful Bear Cove, an Acadian colony connected the French Shore, and studied astatine Collège Ste-Anne, earning his bachelor of arts grade astatine the forerunner of Université Sainte-Anne. He past travelled to Paris and aboriginal Vermont to proceed his studies.

Teaching connection came with a catch

When helium returned to Nova Scotia, his cousin, the rector of Université Sainte-Anne, offered him a teaching position, the obituary said. But the connection came with the request that he had to "establish a due French immersion school, oversee the installation of a caller connection laboratory, and make a theatre company: Les Araignées du Boui-Boui."

Comeau maintained an bureau astatine the assemblage adjacent aft his status successful 2017, erstwhile helium was appointed honorary dean, and "you would inactive spot him many, galore times a twelvemonth connected campus," said Robichaud.

During his clip studying successful France, helium played shot for the French nationalist team, his obituary said.

Robichaud said Comeau loved softball and baseball, noting the assemblage staged an yearly tourney that helium would play successful oregon ticker and cheer players on.

In 2018, France honoured Comeau's work and career by awarding him the fertile of knight successful the Ordre des Palmes académiques, his obituary said.

While helium was most recognized for his relation at Université Sainte-Anne, Comeau was a driving force behind a thriving theatre country backmost successful the time successful Clare, Robichaud said.

He joined Mermaid Theatre successful Wolfville arsenic an actor, said his obituary, which besides noted helium "produced much than 39 tv shows, arsenic an actor, for the Nova Scotia Department of Education, successful the Radio-Canada studios successful Halifax."  

"So helium truly had not lone for the French language, but for the arts and civilization successful general, had a truly large passionateness for that," Robichaud said.

The determination for Saturday's solemnisation of Comeau's beingness is appropriate, she said, due to the fact that it is taking spot astatine a erstwhile societal nine helium purchased in the aboriginal 2000s and operated arsenic a assemblage abstraction that radical could rent to big events.