Owner of the Sherbrooke business Lachance Chasse et Pêche for 33 years, Mr. Lachance has greatly contributed to spreading the passion for hunting and fishing in Estrie and elsewhere. Retired from his company since 2019, he continued to work in retail until the end.
Simon St-Onge has worked alongside Jean-Guy Lachance for nearly 20 years. First in his shop, then at Les Gars de Bois Pronature where Mr. Lachance worked part-time.
He says he first had a boss who became a friend, then a member of his chosen family. When Simon St-Onge learned that Mr. Lachance had re-entered the job market after the closure of Lachance Chasse et Pêche, he joined his team to be able to work with him again. His approach to clients inspired him. “He always treated everyone like his friends. People remembered him, he always had a little joke to make them laugh.”
Mr. St-Onge says that Jean-Guy Lachance lost his life “while living his passion: he died while hunting.” The Tribune did not obtain precise information on the cause of his death. If any departure is difficult, Simon St-Onge believes that the memory Mr. Lachance leaves to the community as a human being and as an entrepreneur will always be positive.
Jean-Guy Lachance during his last hunting and fishing show. (Martin Lacroix)
Upset by the departure of a long-time friend, Sherbrooke taxidermist Martin Lacroix has in his hands Mr. Lachance’s last hunting trophy. “It’s a beautiful white-tailed deer, he won’t have had the chance to see it. I’m going to finish it for the tribute that will be paid to him,” he said.
Martin Lacroix met Jean-Guy Lachance 40 years ago, while hunting with his family when he was a teenager. He remembers the moment he launched his store, a place he frequented on a regular basis, given their shared passion.
“We saw each other so often, we could talk for hours.” According to Mr. Lacroix, Jean-Guy Lachance leaves an important mark both in the heart of the hunting and fishing community and in the business world. He adds that his passion was contagious, so much so that his customers could come from very far away to interact with him. Businessman, husband, father and grandfather, Mr. Lachance was completely engaged in all spheres of his life, according to Mr. Lacroix.
Former columnist behind the “Le courseur des bois” column at The TribuneLuc Larochelle, says that with his store, but especially with his annual evenings, Jean-Guy Lachance popularized the niche of hunting and fishing among a much larger population than that of Estrie. “He organized dance evenings with competitions. There could be more than 1000 people and, with the postal codes, we knew that they sometimes came from far away. He passed on his passion to thousands of Estriens, particularly to ladies.” He considers losing a friend above all.
