Zainab Al-Mehdar
Pontiac April 27, 2022
As a former mayor of Campbell’s Bay and community member, Cletus Ferrigan always made sure to make people feel welcome. He would greet old and new faces who walked or drove by him and made an effort to learn everyone’s names. Born and raised in Campbell’s Bay he was a familiar face to many.
On April 14 Ferrigan died peacefully in his home, after a short battle with cancer. His loss was felt across the Pontiac as he was a friend, a neighbour, a leader, a devoted husband to Linda Mitchell, a father to Timothy and Grant and a loving grandfather to his grandkids.
“He was a role model for all of us, and he’s been my . . .
lifelong role model,” said Timothy. “So giving back was what he always did. I can’t even think about comparing myself to him, because I’ve never really known anybody to be quite as committed to that type of lifestyle as he is.”
On July 29, Cletus and his wife would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. She loved his involvement in the community and enjoyed being a part of it. She was always proud of his achievements, whether it was big or small because he did it well.
“He was always the kind of man who had to be busy, he was never satisfied to sit around and just watch TV or things like that. He wanted to be busy and needed to be involved or organizing or something like that,” said Mitchell.
When he wasn’t working he enjoyed gardening and traveling. They both really loved Quebec City, because of its history and how beautiful it is, she said.
Respecting his wishes the family is donating Cletus’s body to science and Mitchell said this is just a reflection of the person he was. “His whole life was always about what he could do for others, and I think by donating his body to science he realized that the students would learn something from his body.”
Growing up, Timothy lived under Cletus’s wings and decided to tread a similar path as his father. Timothy recalls being given leadership roles by his father as a young man whenever he would be working with him, and it was those moments that solidified his love for being involved in the community.
“He’s been my number one supporter as far as being there all along the way,” said Timothy.
Cletus was known to be a generous and humble man, who didn’t care to drive a fancy car or wear flashy clothes, but rather give whatever he had to community members who he knew needed it more. “He was that guy that handed out 5, 20, and 100 dollar bills like they were candy to whoever he thought could use it. He never bought anything for himself or did anything for himself,” said Timothy. He pointed out that he didn’t know anyone else as selfless beside his grandmother, Cletus’s mother, Anna.
“There are too many of these stories to share, but it is not an exaggeration to say he gave everything and took nothing,” said Timothy.
His grandkids were his life, Cletus never missed a hockey or ball game and was at every figure skating show when he could, and when he couldn’t be there himself he made an effort to learn everything and get all the updates, pointed out Timothy. “He was a super grandpa.”
Over the years Cletus has tried his hand in many different jobs and positions, but “he did one thing at a time, but when he did them he did them well,” he said.
Cletus earned his teacher’s diploma at St. Joseph’s teacher college in Quebec City where he taught seventh grade for a year before switching careers. In 1967 when the pulp mill opened in Portage de Fort he got hired and stayed with them until the mill closed in 2008.
“He quit teaching to take that job because I think he knew it would be a very good spot for him to support the family for many years and to stay local here in the Pontiac,” said Timothy.
In the early 70s, he founded the creation of the Campbell’s Bay Recreation Association. Cletus had a major hand in ensuring that the hall was built for the community, and there have even been talks among community members about renaming it after him.
“In dad’s years he took the lead on several projects that we still benefit from today,” said Timothy.
He became mayor of Campbell’s Bay in 1996, stayed in that post for nine years, and was described as a fair and just leader. But his community involvement extended far greater than his political term. He was known as an active volunteer, an organizer and an advocate. His passion for serving came long before that as a young boy when he would organize sporting events in his town.
During his time as mayor, Lois Smith worked along with him and said she respected that he was a straightforward politician who said what was on his mind.
He was an approachable person and always made people feel heard as he took the time to listen to people’s concerns when they came to him.
She pointed out that his major contribution as mayor was constantly making his town better, and his time spent volunteering and helping out. “His presence in town will be missed because he volunteered constantly at anything and everything that was going on, and he worked for the town tirelessly and didn’t look for any monetary benefits.”
“He was an icon in town,” said Smith.
He was larger than life and he was very present in the community which is why he will be missed, said Smith.
Gabriel Lance worked with Cletus when he was the union president at the pulp mill. Lance described Cletus as the type of person who put his all into everything he did. “He was a friend, he was a co-worker. He always tried to be fair to everyone, it didn’t matter what their language was or anything,” said Lance.
Lance will miss his friendship, humour and devotion to everything he did.
During the April 20 council of mayors, they started the meeting by paying tribute to Cletus with opening remarks from Warden Jane Toller. She referred to him as gentle and his work ethic was an example for everyone.
Maurice Beauregard, the current mayor of Campbell’s Bay mayor, called him a legend and one of the very few ambassadors of the region. Without Cletus the RA hall wouldn’t be where it is today, pointed out Beauregard. “He’s gonna be a hard one to lose.”
Taking the mic to speak, Colleen Larivière, mayor of Litchfield, said with a laugh, “I have lots of stories to tell.” She mentioned the first time she worked with him was when she was 17 and has nothing but fond memories.
“When I decided to run for mayor I went to see him and he had many words of wisdom, as Cletus always did. He was always there, he was always very supportive. Campbell’s Bay and the Pontiac will miss him,” said Larivière.
During covid, Cletus found comfort in listening to musicians playing traditional country music. He joined a Facebook page titled Isolation 2020 Country Jamboree, where different musicians from around the world kept people entertained for free. Impressed by all the participants, Cletus started planning a concert to celebrate what these musicians did during the pandemic.
“He wanted to create an event where all of those artists playing online from their kitchens in their basements could have a stage and a location and an event where they can meet and have a meal together. So it wasn’t something that was meant to be the traditional concert style,” said Timothy.
To honour what their father was doing Timothy and Grant plan to carry on the concert, as they saw people’s response and love for their father. The event will take place on July 22 and 23 to celebrate Cletus’s life. The location is still unknown.
