It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Claude Roussel. He passed away peacefully in Moncton on May 28, 2025 at the age of 94.
His large family and the artistic community in New Brunswick, Canada and abroad are mourning the passing of this giant of the visual arts. Born in Edmundston on July 6, 1930, Claude Roussel is considered the pioneer of modern art in Acadia. He was the founding director of the Department of Visual Arts and the Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen Art Gallery at the Université de Moncton in the 1960s. He was a beloved and respected professor for generations of artists for 29 years at the Université de Moncton and was a prolific career artist. With more than 200 exhibitions, 60 monumental sculpture projects and part of numerous major public and private collections, his artwork can be admired throughout New Brunswick and elsewhere in Canada, even internationally. It includes very special pieces that have a strong emotional connection for many people, such as the Fishermen’s Memorial (1959) in Escuminac to commemorate the 35 fishermen who lost their lives at sea and the famous Beavers (1959) in the Officers’ Square that are now in the Beaverbrook Gallery in Fredericton. Claude Roussel received several awards and distinctions for his excellence and contribution to the visual arts, including the Ordre de la pléiade (1982), the Order of Canada (1984), the Prix Éloizes (1998) from the Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du N.-B., the Order of New Brunswick (2002), the New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor’s Award for his lifetime body of work (2005) and the Médaille d’honneur from the Université de Moncton (2022).
In addition to all his professional and artistic accomplishments, he was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother. He is survived by his beloved wife Raymonde Blanchard-Roussel; his daughters: Denise, Francine (late Darrell Fowler), Claire (Martin Sullivan), Suzanne (Gilles Daigle), Huguette (Daniel LeBlanc), Sylvie (Guy Belliveau) and his stepdaughter Sonia Doucet. He will also be missed by his 16 grandchildren: Sébastien, Dominic, Mélanie, Éric, Léo, Brigitte, Jean-Claude, Deny, Julie, Martin, Jonathan, Marcel, Nicolas, Geneviève, Alec and Lucie, his great-grandchildren: Sky and Lexi, his brothers and sisters: Jeannine (late Gérald) Daigle, Georgette (late Valier) Picard, Lorette (late Lionel) Albert, Irèna (late Pierre Boucher) Roussel, Armand (Jocelyne) Roussel, Rolande (late Guildo) Martin, Colette (Gilles) Levesque and Pauline (Paul) McKinley, as well as many nephews and nieces. He is now resting with his parents Denis Roussel and Dorothée Pelletier, his first wife Brigitte Belzile, his brothers: Maurice, Roland and Gilles, as well as his sister Claudette.
We wish to give special thanks to the medical staff at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre for the care and attention they gave to our beloved Claude.
The family will receive condolences at Frenette Funeral and Cremation Centre, 88 Church Street, Moncton (506-858-1900) on Sunday June 22 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm only. Claude Roussel’s celebration of life will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, 226 St. George Street, Moncton, on Monday June 23 at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, we ask that those wishing to pay their respects consider making a donation to the scholarships Claude-Roussel:
https://www.umoncton.ca/dons/fr/faire-un-don or to a charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be shared at www.frenettefuneralhome.com.