Local vet aims to spruce up cemetery

By Gordon Lambie
Local vet aims to spruce up cemetery
(Photo : Gordon Lambie)

Robert Groulx, President of the Eastern Townships Veterans’ Committee, is on a mission to see the veterans’ area of Sherbrooke’s Saint-Michel cemetery completely reinvented.
“This is a project I have been working on for two years,” Groulx said, arguing that although the space is visited regularly for different commemorative ceremonies, the current space occupies what amounts to as a forgotten corner of the cemetery.
“It looks like a dump,” he said, explaining that the space is meant to provide a respectful burial ground for any and all veterans of the Sherbrooke area without the means to be buried in some space of their own.
Groulx’s vision for the space includes taking up all of the markers, cleaning them, and placing them on an elevated cement form in a space surrounded by hedges, with an arch entrance and a Canadian flag.
“They deserve this,” Groulx said, adding that although parts of the project are being supported by Veterans Affairs Canada, the committee also welcomes donations to help offset the cost of what is not. Those interested in supporting the initiative are invited to send donations to:
Comité des Vétérans des Cantons de l’Est
445 – 13e Avenue nord
Sherbrooke, Qc
J1E 2Y5

For full story and others, subscribe now.

Share this article