RIP, Gerard Bordeau

My father died earlier this morning. He was 73 years old.

It was not exactly a shock that it happened. His health had been a major concern for a long time, and had been declining for years. Frankly, most everybody in the family agreed that it severely impacted his quality of life. 

He was born in France, in Paris, in 1948, shortly after the end of the war. That was where he grew up and spent the entirety of his youth, including his first years as a young man. He served in the French navy, although not particularly enthusiastically. His bigger interests were the arts, particularly music and cartoons. He was a cartoonist, and he tried submitting some of his work to magazines. Towards the end of his life, when he had more time, he tried to get back into that. It was one of the things that I remember always seemed to bring him pleasure.

In the late 1960's - I think it was 1968, specifically - he got an opportunity from a friend in his hometown of Marly-le-Roi to come to the United States. Always having an interest in traveling, he jumped on the opportunity. His first stop was Chicago, but he eventually made his way to New York City. There, at some point, he was trying to find an address which, as I recall, was on the west side, but he mistakenly happened to go to that address on the other side of town. There he met my mother, who had majored in French in college. Their relationship took off from there.

They celebrated 50 years as a married couple just this past September.

For many years, he worked as a house painter. My parents moved back and forth, from the United States to France and back again, several times. Eventually, they moved here for good in the late 70's. He worked as a house painter until he no longer could pull it off physically. After several years working other jobs, he no longer could work anymore. However, my parents found what turned out to be their dream home for their retirement together, something that I feel very happy about. At least he got to enjoy that house for his last years. 

In August of last year, however, his medical condition deteriorated, and he had to go to a medical facility. He went from one to the other, until finally, he got one in his hometown of Hornell, which made my mom's regular visits a lot easier. Unfortunately, his physical condition never really got better. He was in pain more often than not, and was bedridden. If there is one good thing that comes out of this, it is that his suffering is now over. 

Rest in Peace, Pop. 

Gerard Bordeau, 1948-2022

A rarity: my mom requested a picture (which she very rarely ever does) of her and my father together during the November visit to Hornell. As it turns out, I believe that this is the last picture of them together, and possibly the last picture of him ever, also. 

This was from 2018, when my parents, Basia (my girlfriend), Sebastien and me got together for ice cream at the Dairy Queen in West Milford on Route 23. 

A picture of my parents relaxing in my aunt's house in Taverny. 

This is an evening that I remember fairly well. My cousin, Christian, played the guitar well, which made this evening particularly memorable. That is me, presumably looking at Christian. In the background are my father (with the mustache) and my aunt (his sister). 

My father with Sebastien, his grandson (my son), taken either in 2007 or 2008. 

One final picture, this one of my parents. My mom is holding my brother, presumably, who was then a baby. This must have been the early seventies. I believe this was taken in the apartment in the Bronx. This was not among the photos in the folder, although I ran into this picture on my Facebook memories recently, and then could not find it anywhere here on the Charbor Chronicles. Figured it deserved to be posted. Perhaps I even posted it already sometime in the past and just could not find it this time around, but figured it could be posted again anyway. 

Finally, it seemed fitting to end this with something of his spirit. As mentioned earlier, my father liked to do cartoons. These were some of the ones that he sent me after successfully scanning them, and which I posted here before. But in his honor, I am posting them again.

Enjoy.

Finally, let me also include the original cartoon that he sent to me, and which I already had published a few days ago, on the 28th.