On 1 February, the funeral for Sapper Léopold Thibeault was held - he died on 10 January at the age of 105 years. The many eulogies during the funeral illustrated what an exceptional person Sapper Thibeault was - a long life filled with many loved ones.
A veteran of Normandy and Holland, he enlisted in the armed forces in 1941 and embarked for Great Britain with the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers. He landed in Normandy on June 7th, 1944 and served until Victory in Europe in May 1945. During the war, Léopold repaired roads, built bridges, cleared minefields and moved massive quantities of engineer equipment to support the Allied advance. He worked on the construction of the 50-year Ostend-Ghent pipeline and on the Bailey bridges over the Neder Rijn in Arnhem.
A father of five, he worked as a railway engineer for CN until his retirement in 1983. His energy after retirement was directed to the service of the Knights of Columbus, where he achieved the highest (4th) degree. His service was recognized in 2022 by the French Legion of Honour and the Dutch Liberation Medal. He was a member of the Canadian delegation during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024.
General Carignan, Canada's senior engineer, travelled for the occasion to offer her sympathies to the family, greet Sapper Thibeault on his final journey and represent the Royal Canadian Engineers at the funeral. Also present were several members of 34 Combat Engineer Regiment, a Reserve engineer unit in the Montreal area, including Lieutenant-Colonel Anne-Marie Maclellan, Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 34 Combat Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Genest, Commander of 34 Combat Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Audet, Commander of the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment and Maj Shaath, Deputy Commander of the 34th Combat Engineer Regiment. At the request of the family, these representatives of the engineers escorted the coffin of Sapper Thibault, to the sound of bagpipes, to the chapel where his life was celebrated.
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leopold-th…
https://cmea-agmc.ca/spr-joseph-leopold-thibeault-retd-ret
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/montreal-qc/joseph-leopold-t…