Obituary of Gérard Vincent Joseph La Forest, C.C., K.C.

Gérard Vincent Joseph La Forest, C.C., K.C.

Passed away peacefully at the age of 99, on Thursday, 12 June, 2025, surrounded by his daughters in the comfort of his home. He was predeceased by Marie Warner La Forest, his cherished wife of 49 years. Gérard was born on 1 April, 1926, in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, the youngest of the twelve children of J. Alfred La Forest and Philomène (LaJoie).  

Gérard was a distinguished jurist, legal academic, and public servant. After studying at St. Francis Xavier University, he studied law at the University of New Brunswick. In 1949, he obtained a B.C.L. and was called to the bar of New Brunswick. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he continued his studies at Oxford University, earning a B.A. in 1951. He also completed an LL.M. in 1965 and a J.S.D. in 1966, both at Yale University. Following a short period in private practice in Grand Falls, he served in the federal Department of Justice from 1952 to 1955 and then as a legal advisor for K.C. Irving at Irving Oil in Saint John before embarking on a teaching career. In 1956, he was appointed to the Faculty of Law at the University of New Brunswick and was promoted to Professor in 1963. He was named a Queen’s Counsel in New Brunswick in 1968. From 1968 to 1970 he was Dean of Law at the University of Alberta. He returned to government in 1970, serving as Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Canada until 1974. He then became a member of the Law Reform Commission of Canada for five years. In 1981, after teaching for two years at the University of Ottawa as Director of the Legislative Drafting program, he was appointed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. On 16 January 1985, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice La Forest served on the Supreme Court for twelve years. His jurisprudence was groundbreaking in many areas including constitutional law, human rights, extradition, privacy, and public and private international law, and he was regularly cited throughout the common law world. One of his judgments is the only Canadian case included in a recent British text entitled Landmark Cases in Private International Law from 1750 to 2021.  

When he retired from the Supreme Court of Canada on 30 September 1997, Gérard and Marie returned to their beloved New Brunswick. When Marie became ill shortly after their return, Gérard cared for her at home until her death in 2002. He continued to work in the legal profession for the remainder of his life. He was the Distinguished Legal Scholar in Residence at the University of New Brunswick, and became counsel at the firm of Stewart McKelvey, an association of which he was very proud. He was prolific as an author, writing more than fifteen books and reports and publishing almost fifty articles, papers, presentations and notes. Throughout his career, he has honoured the Province of New Brunswick and Canada through his public service. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, and he was awarded honorary doctorates by no fewer than eight universities. The Law Library at the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law was named for him in 1992, and a Rare Books Room within the Law Library was established in his name in 2012. In 2000, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

More important than all of these accomplishments, Gérard was a dedicated and loving husband and father to his five daughters, Marie (Rem Westland), Kathleen (Peter Hammond), Anne (Heather Hobart), Elizabeth (Denis Chainé), and Sarah (Dana Mingo). He has always been there for us, and in recent times has taught us that hope, determination, and good humour in the face of challenge are amongst the greatest gifts that life can offer us. He was fundamentally a happy, gentle and thoughtful man who loved his family and his life. We will miss him deeply. No amount of time with him would ever have been enough. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Kees, Gerrit, Katie, Billy, Emily, John, Daniel, Isabelle, and Louis, as well as one great grandchild, Oliver.  

Resting at McAdam's Funeral Home, 160 York Street, Fredericton, N. B., there will be a visitation on Wednesday, June 18, from 3:00 to 6:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Dunstan's Catholic Church on Thursday, June 19 at 10:00am, with Fr. Peter Osbourne as celebrant. Fr. Suresh Savariraj, and Fr. John Jennings will assist. The honourary pallbearers will be the Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella, Graydon Nicholas, C.M., O.N.B, Thomas J. Barry, M.D., and Frederick McElman, C.M., K.C.

The family would like to especially thank all of his caregivers who supported him during his final years and came to love him.

Interment will take place in Saint Joseph’s Cemetery in Saint John, New Brunswick, where he will finally be laid to rest with his wife Marie who he has missed more than words can say since her passing.

In lieu of flowers, the family would greatly appreciate donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Marie Warner La Forest Scholarship at the Faculty of Law at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, or the Clifford G. Warner Scholarship at the Faculty of Business at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John.