Even though he had promised himself he would never live there again after a train explosion killed his mother when he was only 15, an orphan made peace with Lac-Mégantic and has since little chose to make his life there.
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“After the tragedy, I told myself that it was certain that I would no longer live here… But I left Lac-Mégantic for a few years, and I realized that this is where I feel good” , launches Tristan Lecours.
On the fateful evening of July 6, 2013, his mother Marie-Noëlle Faucher was celebrating at Musi-Café, when a train derailed and destroyed downtown Lac-Mégantic. His father died six months before the tragedy, so at the age of 15, Tristan became an orphan.
He also found himself homeless, having had no access to the family residence for two months, due to the large security perimeter erected after the explosion. He was welcomed by the family of his aunt, his mother’s sister, in Lac-Drolet, about twenty kilometers from Lac-Mégantic. This allowed him to continue his studies at the same school, and thus keep his network of friends, and to continue playing hockey, his passion.
Marie-Noëlle Faucher and her two sons Tristan and Sébastien. Photo archives
Courtesy
Change of scenery
Once he finished high school, he needed a change of scenery and flew to Europe.
“I went on a student exchange for a year in Finland. I went to school and played hockey,” he says.
He believes that his mother would have been proud of this initiative. A single mother, she had never had the opportunity to travel. When he returned from his trip, he settled in Sherbrooke to pursue his college studies. He completed a technique in special education.
And it was his job that brought him back to his native hometown. He has indeed landed a job as a specialized educator at the Polyvalente de Lac-Mégantic… the very place where he was studying in 2013. Moreover, he works alongside the educator who came to his aid after the death of his mother.
Tristan Lecours, a year after the death of his mother Marie-Noëlle Faucher. SARAH-BÉLISLE/THE MONTREAL JOURNAL/QMI AGENCY
Sarah Bélisle / JdeM
make a difference
“At the time, due to moving to my aunt, I couldn’t go to hockey anymore, I was distraught and he helped me with that. He only did three or four interventions, I hadn’t asked for anything, but he came to help me and he made my life easier in these difficult times,” explains Tristan.
When he started his job at the high school, he insisted on speaking to his new colleague to tell him that he had made a difference at the time and that this inspired him to do this job.
“It feels good today to support young people in my turn who might need help,” he says.
In addition to working there, Tristan chose to make his life in Lac-Mégantic and to buy a property there.
“It would have been great to live close to my mother. I could have taken a little cup of wine with her, she could have seen the adult I have become, met my girlfriend, ”laments the 25-year-old young man.