HEENAN, Roy Lacaud, O. C., Ad.E., B.A., B. C.L., LL.D. 1935-2017
Roy Lacaud Heenan passed away on February 3rd, 2017, in his 82nd year, surrounded by his family. Dear husband for 51 years of Rae (nee MacCulloch), beloved father of Louise, Charles, Anne, and Claire, affectionate father-in-law to Jon Meyer, Joy Lyth, and Matthew Hunt, and loving grandfather of Benjamin and Annelise Heenan and Sarah and Sophie Hunt. He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Barker of Toledo, Ohio, and is survived by his half-brother Rod Heenan of Vancouver, BC. Born in Mexico City in 1935 to parents Ernest and Yvonne Lacaud Heenan, he came to Canada in 1947, where he attended Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario. He later attended McGill University in Montreal for his Bachelor of Arts degree (Hons) (1957), and his Bachelor of Civil Law Degree (1960). Roy was Founding Partner/Chairman (1973-2012) of the law firm Heenan Blaikie, and a leading authority on Canadian labour, employment and administrative law. He was an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University and also lectured at Queen’s University, Université de Laval and the University of Ottawa. He was an international speaker, as well as a well-known patron of the arts. He was Founding Chairman and Director of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (2002-2012). He also sat on many boards including the CBC, the Jarislowsky Foundation, and the International Historic Heritage Foundation. Over the years he sat on the board of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario, and he was the Chairman of the Musée d’art comtemporain de Montréal (1994-1998). He was a keen member of the Atwater/Montreal Badminton and Squash Club, the Montreal Indoor Tennis Club and the Hillside Tennis Club
Roy received numerous honours, including being appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1999 in recognition for being ‘one of the country’s leading labour lawyers who has also made significant contributions to academic life and the art world’. He was also conferred the honourary title of Lawyer Emeritus in 2008 by the Barreau du Quebec, and was awarded in May of the same year a Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from McGill University. Known for his enthusiasm, humour, and generosity, he was a friend and an inspiration to many. Visitation at the Kane & Fetterly Funeral Home, 5301 Decarie Blvd., (corner Isabella), Montreal on Thursday, February 9th from 6:00-9:00 pm. Funeral Service at St. George’s Anglican Church, in downtown Montreal, on Friday, February 10 at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Cedars Cancer Foundation (Supportive and Palliative Care Fund) (www.cedars.ca) or St. Matthias’ Anglican Church, Montreal (https://st-matthias.ca). Condolences may be sent to www.kanefetterly.com.
