Sam LeMarquand, who was born in Massachusetts on April 27, 1927, passed away on Sunday, June 27, 2022 at the Chateau Westmount, Westmount, Quebec after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the last few years.
Sam was the son of the late Muriel Louisa Tuzo and the late Lyndon LeMarquand of Sept-Iles, Quebec. He is survived by his brother Ralph LeMarquand of Brooklyn, New York and his many friends including Susan Button, Graham Wright and Paul K. Marchand of Montreal. Sam grew up in Sept-Iles, but moved to Montreal as a young man.
Sam's life was full. He worked for Hunter Douglas as a successful and respected salesman in Quebec and the Maritime provinces for all of his working life. But his main interest was in the theatre as an actor, director and lecturer. Some of the highlights were with the Lakeshore Players for three decades where he served as an actor and director and where he came into contact with Paul Brennan who encouraged him to direct. He went on to direct plays for the Hudson Village Theatre and in Montreal at the Saidye Bronfman Centre and gave lectures on theatre at the Thomas More Institute and McGill University. Being fluently bilingual he was able to direct and appear in plays in both French and English. Sam joined the board of the Quebec Drama festival in 1973 and played an active part in the encouragement of English theatre throughout Quebec working with colleagues such as Norma Springford. He appeared in the CBC series on the Life of Sir John A. Macdonald and in films such as Malarek and P.T. Barnum plus many others in French and English. He was a good friend of the drama critic Myron Galloway and could be found at every theatre opening in the eighties and nineties in Montreal.
Sam will be sorely missed. It is hard to believe that just four weeks ago at the age of 95 he was dancing for the patients at Chateau Westmount. His friends would like to thank the staff on the second floor of Chateau Westmount for the kindness and care they showed to Sam during his stay there, but especially during his final weeks.