Marcel was born in Montreal in 1937, the eldest of five children.
He attended both French and English schools, as his father was a
strong believer that all his children should be bilingual so they would
be better prepared later in life.
During
his formative years he worked a variety of summer jobs, which included
working as a waiter, short order cook and truck helper for a trucking
company, before the advent of required work permits for school age young
people. Looking for a life
change, Marcel enlisted in what was than the Royal Canadian Air Force in
1954 and received training as a Flight Control Operator.
This involved the procedure of providing direction to planes
after scrambles for aircraft identification missions.
His active duty took him to Eastern Canada and a 3‑year
assignment in Duluth, Minnesota serving under NORAD (North American Air
Defense). Not one to be idle he supplemented his military income by
working several part time jobs. This
was probably a necessity because it was at this time he married Monique,
who has since blessed their marriage with three sons.
They now have five grandchildren.
In 1964, he left the service
after serving ten years and embarked upon a career in accounting.
He attended McGill University in Montreal while working as an
Assistant Plant Accountant. Since then he has worked as a Plant Accountant for major
corporations in Eastern Canada. He
eventually moved to the Windsor area and in 1968 he began his career
with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan in the fledging Internal
Audit Department.
Nineteen-sixty nine found the
family moving to St. Clair Shores where Marcel and Monique continue to
reside. Also, at this time,
Marcel transferred to the Provider Audit Division where he conducted
Medicare and Blue Cross audits of health care providers until he retired
under the SERP Program in 1988.
Since retiring he and Monique
have had the opportunity to travel extensively to such far away places
as Guam, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean Islands. Their hobby is collecting antique cars and they are the proud
owners of three elderly Buick’s (1931, 1937 & 1941) all in
operating condition. Marcel
also collects items which he feels may be valuable someday including
coins, stamps, etc.
Marcel is currently serving as
Treasurer of the Retiree Association and doing an outstanding job.
He does so despite being forced to depend on oxygen, as he
suffers from a disabling lung condition.
Regardless, he continues to perform as well as any normal
individual would and we are very thankful for this ability to do so.
THESE CANADIANS ARE TOUGH PEOPLE!!
