RIP Carmen Perreault(Gilbert’s wife)

[LabattBlue]

I mentioned this in the RJ thread and a couple of posters seemed interested, so when I finally found an obit, I thought I would mention it(you may have to click translate to English button on your browser)…

 

https://necrocanada.com/obituaries-2023/carmen-caron-3-aout-2023/

😞

 

Odd that there was nothing from Sabres social media on it, unless that was requested by Gilbert. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by LabattBlue

[Quint]

Thanks for this. I am so sad. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Quint

[Pimlach]

This must be very hard for Gilbert as they are going on 50 years together.  RIP Carmen.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

More good Sabres related news.  My best to Gilbert and his family.  

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

Odd that there was nothing from Sabres social media on it, unless that was requested by Gilbert. 

It must have been at his asking.  It's almost three weeks now and we heard nothing except for a quick remark during the RJ stuff on WGR.

[tom webster]

I’ve shied away from this subject but it seems Gilbert has been distanced from the franchise for last couple years.

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

I’ve shied away from this subject but it seems Gilbert has been distanced from the franchise for last couple years.

This makes me very sad, as I consider Perreault to be my all-time favorite Sabre. 
 

😞
 

[edited]Even if it means Gilbert is put on the PSE payroll, I would do whatever it takes to keep him happy. He was the franchises first star, and deserves to be a happy alumni, and insure that he is in attendance for all important Sabre events, or if nothing else, just here in town a couple times a year for a home game. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by LabattBlue

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

I’ve shied away from this subject but it seems Gilbert has been distanced from the franchise for last couple years.

There definitely was some disaffection following his retirement. I thought maybe some fences were mended when the Pegulas bought the team and Terry delivered his maudlin "where's Perreault ... you're my hero" line at the opening press conference.

I also think -- and this is really just a guess -- that Perreault has a deep, strong preference for the Quebecois culture. Being a regular ambassador for the Sabres** was just never going to be a fit for him.

**Pronounce it like Stan Filpowski would pronounce it at the Corpus Christi fish fry. Real nasal like. Very, very non-French.

Edited August 21, 2023 by That Aud Smell

[tom webster]

2 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There definitely was some disaffection following his retirement. I thought maybe some fences were mended when the Pegulas bought the team and Terry delivered his maudlin "where's Perreault ... you're my hero" line at the opening press conference.

I also think -- and this is really just a guess -- that Perreault has a deep, strong preference for the Quebecois culture. Being a regular ambassador for the Sabres was just never going to be a fit for him.

I thought he did reconnect after Pegula bought the team before fading away. He always did prefer staying close to home so maybe that’s all it is. Like I said, I’ve always stayed away from the things that I consider private matters.

[That Aud Smell]

10 minutes ago, tom webster said:

He always did prefer staying close to home so maybe that’s all it is.

Good point. And we may add to the inferences above: He might just be a private guy and/or an introvert who doesn't like serving in the role of local celebrity.

[tom webster]

9 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Good point. And we may add to the inferences above: He might just be a private guy and/or an introvert who doesn't like serving in the role of local celebrity.

People forget he was so homesick he briefly thought of retiring in his first or second year.

[thewookie1]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

I’ve shied away from this subject but it seems Gilbert has been distanced from the franchise for last couple years.

He was always a more private guy but age and his two linemates passing likely lessened his reasons to visit Buffalo physically. Not to mention we have no idea if his wife was ill or anything

[That Aud Smell]

59 minutes ago, tom webster said:

People forget he was so homesick he briefly thought of retiring in his first or second year.

Or they just never knew and only learned that today. (Like me.)

RIP Carmen Perreault.

[PASabreFan]

I always liked Perreault's cool aloofness. I bet the modern life of an NHL franchise player would be tough for him. Having to sit between two Skinners and such.

Also @That Aud Smell, good word: maudlin.

Edited August 21, 2023 by PASabreFan

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

He was always a more private guy but age and his two linemates passing likely lessened his reasons to visit Buffalo physically. Not to mention we have no idea if his wife was ill or anything

VERY private.  He would rub my head and shush me when I tried to talk to him in church.  And who knows for how long Carmen was sick?  It might have been years during which he was caring for her and didn't give a damn about the team.  And, frankly, who cares?  She was his wife and it is his business (none of this directed at you, wookie, or even at anyone in this thread).  

All we can do is hope that he's ok and that the family is ok.  That's kind of it, now, right?

[Quint]

Poor Gilbert! 😭 Gotta love him. ❤️ Rest in peace Carmen. 

[R_Dudley]

My favorite Sabre all time.

I hope he finds solace with the large family he still hopefully surrounds himself with.   

[nfreeman]

Here's the google translation of the obituary:

Quote

carmen caron Thursday, August 3, 2023, at her home, passed away at the age of 72, Mrs. Carmen Caron, wife of Mr. Gilbert Perreault. She was domiciled in Victoriaville. Besides her husband Gilbert Perreault, Ms. Caron is survived by her children: Marc-André Perreault (Marylène Thibodeau), the late Lindsay Perreault, Sean Perreault (Christine Côté); his granddaughters: Mila Perreault and Shannie Belisle Perreault; his brothers and sisters: Ginette (Christopher Loyd), Florent (Céline Vachon), late Rodolphe, Heidi (Michel St-Cyr). From the Perreault family, she was the sister-in-law of: late Lise (Robert Talbot), late Réal (Monique Turmel), Nicole, late Marcel (Diane Fortin) and Denis. She also leaves to mourn her nephews and nieces: Ricky, Gina and Philippe Poudrier, Kim Caron, Steven and Jessica St-Cyr, Élise, Caroline, Pierre and Marjolaine Talbot, Éric Perreault, Isabelle, Dominique and Hugues Allaire, Jean-François and Charles Perreault, Geneviève and Sarah Perreault; several other relatives and friends. The family will receive condolences on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as well as on Thursday, the day of the ceremony, starting at 9 a.m., at the Grégoire & Desrochers Funeral Complex, 1300, rue Notre-Dame Est in Victoriaville. A ceremony in his memory will be celebrated this same Thursday, August 17, 2023, at noon, in the Marcoux & Dion Chapel of the complex.

I hate to say it, and I hope I'm just misinterpreting the translation, but based on this it looks like Gilbert and Carmen lost a child at some point.  Awful.

RIP Carmen and God bless her family.

[Eleven]

12 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Here's the google translation of the obituary:

I hate to say it, and I hope I'm just misinterpreting the translation, but based on this it looks like Gilbert and Carmen lost a child at some point.  Awful.

RIP Carmen and God bless her family.

I can read some French and you are correct.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Eleven

[Turbo44]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:20 PM, Eleven said:

VERY private.  He would rub my head and shush me when I tried to talk to him in church.  And who knows for how long Carmen was sick?  It might have been years during which he was caring for her and didn't give a damn about the team.  And, frankly, who cares?  She was his wife and it is his business (none of this directed at you, wookie, or even at anyone in this thread).  

All we can do is hope that he's ok and that the family is ok.  That's kind of it, now, right?

Gilbert was/is awesome. He was very shy, especially at the beginning of his career, mostly due to his lack of English language skills. Later in life he’d do stuff like sing Elvis songs at games, so he really opened up. Had drinks with him at a bar once, with Rico when he was alive, what fun. Nice people.
 

Sometimes you meet you hero you come away feeling less than enthused. With Gilbert, he’s an even better person than a hockey player and that’s saying a ton.

God bless you #11.

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

Had drinks with him at a bar once, with Rico when he was alive, what fun. Nice people.

I've described my experience having drinks with Rick Martin before.  Apparently I'm the only person he wasn't nice to!  Maybe I look like a jerk or maybe I was one (but that's not normally my thing) or maybe he just wanted a quiet few to himself.

Gil, I never had drinks with.  My only experiences with him are at the nave of the church, when I was a child, as above or elsewhere.  Again, kind head-par and shush.  

The interactions as adults have been far more revealing.  Chris Simon, for example, was a complete jerk.  Don Luce, the opposite.  It just depends on the person.

[Marvin]

Gilbert and Carmen knew my parents at PTA -- but only because my mom was fluent in French.  I recall vaguely my mom saying that was the only reason she got to know them at all.

[Goldseatsaud]

Larry Playfair I think said something on the air with Duff last week 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

On 8/24/2023 at 7:30 PM, nfreeman said:

Here's the google translation of the obituary:

I hate to say it, and I hope I'm just misinterpreting the translation, but based on this it looks like Gilbert and Carmen lost a child at some point.  Awful.

RIP Carmen and God bless her family.

Google translate is rarely your friend, especially if you do not have a reasonable understanding of the language you are translating.

On 8/24/2023 at 7:42 PM, Eleven said:

I can read some French and you are correct.

Feu directly translates as fire, except when used in a French Canadien obit ... you are both correct in this case they are referring to a deceased (and not married) child.

RIP, Ms Caron.  May Gilbert and his family find peace.

[Pimlach]

The 70’s Sabres quite often came into a Buffalo restaurant that I worked at, they came after Sunday home games which ended at about 9:30 back then.   They would get there in a big group, dressed in ties and jackets, by about 11:00, and very often with wives.  I had a few conversations with Gilbert and I had a beer with him once.  He was still very shy way back then, and kind, and polite.  Good sense of humor despite the language barrier.  His wife was very pretty too.