Concordia community mourns passing of P. André Gervais
P. André Gervais, BA 54, lawyer and former chair of Concordia’s Board of Governors, passed away on August 14, 2016, in Montreal. He was 83.
Born in 1932, Gervais earned his Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College, one of Concordia’s founding institutions, in 1954.
He was a member of the first graduating class of Université de Sherbrooke’s Faculty of Law in 1957 and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1958.
Gervais was a partner with the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais in Montreal. His late brother, Father Marc Gervais, S.J., BA 50, was a long-time Concordia professor in the Department of Communication Studies.
André Gervais maintained strong ties to his Concordia roots. He was a member of the university’s Board of Governors from 1984 to 1996 and was its chair from 1987 to 1992. He was named governor emeritus in 1996.
“André Gervais never forgot how Concordia helped launch him into a successful legal career, and he dedicated much of his time and knowledge to our governance,” says Bram Freedman, Concordia’s vice-president of Advancement and External Relations.
“He and his brother, Marc, in very different but significant ways, left a lasting legacy for the university and ensured that the Gervais name will live on.”
Funeral services
The Gervais family will receive condolences for P. André Gervais at the Mount Royal Funeral Complex, 1297 ch. de la Foret, Outremont, Que., H2V 2P9, on Friday, August 19, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m.
P. André Gervais served as chair of Concordia’s Board of Governors from 1987 to 1992 and was named a governor emeritus in 1996. | Photo credit: Concordia University
In 1966, Gervais joined the law firm Mackenzie Gervais, a predecessor of Borden Ladner Gervais, working in securities and then commercial and corporate law.
Gervais served as president of the Canadian Bar Association for its 1997-98 term. The Canadian Government recognized Gervais’s legal prowess by appointing him to the Competition Tribunal in 2007.
Throughout his successful career, Gervais committed himself to his community and served on many volunteer boards, including as executive vice-president of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and for Concordia’s Canadian Irish Studies Foundation. He also was an alderman for the City of Westmount.
The Concordia University Alumni Association honoured Gervais with its Alumni Recognition Award of Merit, now the Humberto Santos Award of Merit, in 1995.
P. André Gervais is pictured at right with his brother, Fr. Marc Gervais, at the 1995 Concordia University Alumni Recognition Awards, where André Gervais received the Award of Merit.
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