Gérard Demers

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COMPANIES

"GÉRARD DEMERS INC."
"DEMERS EXPRESS INC."

The story of these businesses is above all the story of a man of vision, a tireless worker, a builder with an innate head for business and an uncommon entrepreneurial spirit. Through his personality and his successes, he contributed greatly to the development of the municipality of St-Pierre-les-Becquets.
Here is a brief account of the life of this man of action:

1908: Born on 6 December at Gentilly, son of Joseph Demers and Anna Carignan. His father was a butcher.

1920: Gérard is in Grade 4 at the school on the rang (concession road) and every evening he helps his father. His job: holding the lantern while his father « fait boucherie » [does the slaughtering].

1923: His schooling is over; he has learned to read, to write and above all to count.
He is needed full time at his father’s slaughterhouse and to look after the farm.

1924: At 16, his father sends him off alone, by train, to buy animals on the big Montréal markets. The challenge was great and so was the anxiety… It was his first victory over himself and his initiation into the world of adults and of business.

1931: For the past year he has been courting a young woman from Gentilly, Yvonne Tourigny, daughter of Edmond Tourigny, farmer. They join their destinies on 8 August, and from their union eight (8) children will be born, six (6) of whom are still living:
Jacques, Yvon, Jean-Paul, Pierre, Denis and Madeleine.

NB: Pierre died in February 2012.

Gérard and Yvonne settled on the 2nd rang of St-Pierre-les-Becquets. His father lent him $7,000 to buy a house, a narrow strip of land, a wagon and a horse. There he laid the foundations of his first slaughterhouse, which included a cold room chilled with blocks of ice cut with a saw and hauled up from the St. Lawrence River. He did the slaughtering and sold the meat house to house. My mother made sausage, cretons and head cheese to stock the wagon and increase sales.

1938: Gérard Demers, aged 30, was elected mayor of the municipality of St-Pierre by a majority of 16 votes. Mr. Demers is the youngest mayor in Nicolet county. He would hold office from 1939 to 1947, from 1949 to 1953 and from 1965 to 1975.

He was an ardent promoter of his municipality, which he ran like his own business, sparing no effort and never counting his hours.
1942: He put up for sale every piece of real estate he owned on the 2nd rang. He bought a large lot in the village, on the bank of the river, and had a new house, a large slaughterhouse and offices built there.

1944: Expansion of his trucking line. He buys his first tractor-trailer.

1948: He obtains his charter of incorporation and his company is born. From now on it will bear the name "GÉRARD DEMERS INC."

1950: He has a street laid out around his business and builds single-family houses along it. He hopes that a number of employees will come and settle in St-Pierre so that, as the population grows, he can develop services (water mains, sewers, etc.). Rue DEMERS still exists today.

1955-1965: In the prime of life, this spirited builder adds a new branch to his business: a concrete pipe factory.

1956: Building a large garage becomes necessary to service the truck fleet, which grows in number year after year. Adjoining the garage, a store selling tires, paint and parts for truck repairs. A service station served the local people.

1961: Another milestone marks this year: the birth of a second company devoted exclusively to transport. Charter of incorporation obtained: "DEMERS EXPRESS INC."

1967: Now that he has obtained all the necessary transport permits, he sets out to expand the wholesale trade in building materials. His goal: to become the supplier of many stores across Québec. To get there, he needs space to hold a large inventory and to be able to give fast, efficient service. He has a 30,000-square-foot warehouse built and sets aside part of it for the company’s head office. A service station beside the warehouse fuelled the companies’ truck fleet.

Enlargement and modernization of the slaughterhouse, operating under the corporate name "LES VIANDES DEMERS LTÉE" and now run by his eldest son, Jacques.

1973: Since Gérard Demers inc. already owned 2 service stations, Gérard had 2 new ones built: one at Gentilly and the other at Manseau. By increasing the volume of gasoline sales, he could obtain better prices from the oil companies and lower the fuel costs of his truck fleet.

1976-1980: The businesses grow considerably and Gérard can count on three more of his sons — Jean-Paul, Pierre and Denis — to support him and run the companies. The sons had worked alongside their father from their youth, learning the trade over the years and drawing on his rich experience. They are the next generation, and they prepare for it conscientiously and with pride. As for his other son, Yvon, he is a cardiology specialist at the CHUL in Québec City, and his daughter Madeleine is a social worker at the Centres de Services Sociaux of Trois-Rivières.

1981: A memorable date for the Demers companies: Gérard decides to step down from the presidency and entrust that responsibility to his son Jean-Paul. Pierre will continue to manage the garage and Denis the transport side. Gérard keeps the title of founding president and special adviser on the board of directors.

1981-1987: The garage was enlarged, the trailers being longer, higher and more numerous. Two further warehouses were built on vast lots used as lumber yards. The companies are prosperous.

1987: Gérard Demers had been living with diabetes for several years; he had to slow his pace but never lost any of his interest. Every day he goes to his office, he listens, watches, talks with the employees, discusses matters with the accountant… He takes the pulse of the management and, by his presence, injects that great confidence he had won through effort and daring.

It was after his visit to the office that, on 31 August, he came home to his Yvonne and, in his armchair, in silence, he bowed before his Creator and before Death. He was 78 years and 8 months old.

What he built with his family and his employees reflects the philosophy of life he summed up in these words:

« Il faut se tenir ensemble, c’est comme ça qu’on est fort et qu’on réussit à faire changer les choses, chacun a ses talents, nous devons les développer et en faire profiter les autres ». [We have to stick together — that is how we are strong and how we manage to change things; each of us has talents, and we must develop them and let others benefit from them.]

The funeral was held on 5 September and he rests in the cemetery of St-Pierre-les-Becquets. More than 3,000 messages of sympathy were sent to his family.

Text written and documents supplied by Madeleine Demers, daughter of Gérard.