Pierre Lespérance, director of Éditions de l’Homme for 50 years, died Monday in Saint-Jérôme. He was 84 years old.
The world of books and publishing has always played a crucial role in Pierre Lespérance’s life. He bought his very first bookstore at the age of 22, the Ducharme bookstore located in Old Montreal. Others followed for the one who also acquired the Garneau bookstores.
In 1967, Pierre Lespérance found himself at the head of Éditions de l’Homme and other companies that belonged to his father. It was he who decided to unite these companies under the Sogides brand. In 2005, he sold Sogides to Quebecor to become president of the Books sector of Quebecor Media.
In 1999, he was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by France and received the Fleury-Mesplet prize a year earlier, for his contribution to the influence of books and publishing in Quebec.
Suffering from a blood disease, he received medical assistance in dying at the Saint-Jérôme regional hospital. He is survived by his wife Danielle and his son Francis.