A sad day for Callander and the entire area.

This after Mayor Hec Lavigne passed away this morning.

The municipality released the following statement:

It is with great sadness that the Municipality of Callander announces the passing of Mayor Hector Lavigne.

“Members of Council, staff and residents are deeply saddened by the terrible news,” said Chief Administrative Officer Mike Purcell. “I extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to Mayor Lavigne’s family and loved ones. He will truly be missed by many.”

Mayor Lavigne entered politics as Reeve of Callander in December 2000.

He sat and chaired numerous local and regional Boards and committees while maintaining full time employment in the insurance industry as a commercial lines account manager with a local insurance brokerage firm. Throughout his time as Head of Council, he was a strong leader and along with Council and staff he worked hard to ensure that Callander remained family focused and a great place to live, work and play.

At this time, funeral arrangements are not available; we will provide an update once more information is available.

 

MPP Vic Fedeli says this is a huge loss for Callander and the entire region.

“A tremendous loss for northern Ontario, a loss to the Métis community because Hector would meet with me in Toronto frequently where he worked on economic development funding for Métis organizations,” Fedeli says.

Fedeli adds Lavigne was a long time friend, pointing out they would meet up a few times for breakfast each month.

“Just a great friend, a long-time friend, and a super, super guy. Nothing political about Hec Lavigne. He’s just a guy who was working really hard for his community,” Fedeli adds.

 

Lavigne also worked at Rivet Insurance in North Bay, with Vice-President Frank Rivet telling BayToday Lavigne was a valuable member of the Rivet Insurance family for over 15 years.

“With more than 40 years of experience in the insurance field, he was a teacher and mentor to his co-workers and a trusted broker to many clients. His knowledge and expertise, positive attitude, and unique sense of humour will be greatly missed by all of those who had the pleasure of working with him. He has left a great void not only in this office, but in the insurance network, the community, and the hearts of all who knew him,” Rivet tells BayToday.

Photo above by Jeff Turl/BayToday.ca

Photo below submitted by the Municipality of Callander

 

 

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