(submitted by Ace’s wife, Sharon Dawe)
The irrepressible James (Ace) MacLellan, after a tough fight, succumbed on his terms, on November 18, 2016, in Montréal.
Born James Alexander MacLellan on June 25, 1945, to Michael MacLellan and Elizabeth (McPherson) MacLellan, in Montréal, Québec. Known as Jimmie to his family and Ace to his friends, James grew up on the West Island but made the Townships his home.
Ace enjoying the Canadian Amateur. (Photo: Bruce Nichols’ facebook account)
Ace was a jack of all trades and a master of many: he played football, baseball, rackets, hockey, golf, pool and damned good poker. He was a teacher by profession, a coach, a first responder, a musician, a singer a late-blooming actor, a bartender and a sometimes chauffeur. He was a well-known character around town (everybody knew Ace); and, yes, a bit of a ladies’ man. And he rode a Harley.
Ace was hard to peg. Easy going, he could also be as stubborn as a mule. He was a community guy, yet a bit of a loner. His baby blues could scare you out of a poker hand, or melt your heart from across the room. Ace was truly original, and he will leave a gaping hole in the lives of his many, many, friends, too many to mention by name. But as he would say, you know who you are – and you know you were family to him.
Ace will be sorely missed by his son Will and Kelly Lynn, his grandchildren Lyric and Chevelle, his first wife Linda, his stepdaughter Mia, his mother-in-law Danièle, his sisters- and brothers-in-law Linda, John, Cameron, Diem, Mélodie and Ralph, his nieces Abigail, My, Phuong and Thy, his Aunt Mabel and Aunt Florence;,and his cousins Alex, Billy, Janice, Bob, Doug, (the late) Brian, and Terry.
Most of all, Ace indelibly marked the lives of the two people who shared so much of these last few tumultuous years: his caregiver and good friend, Dale Coderre, and his devoted wife, Sharon Dawe. Thanks to the two of them, we all had the chance to have a little more Ace in our lives for a lot longer than we could have hoped.
The official Celebration of Ace’s life will be held on Saturday, December 17th, at the Lakeview Inn, in Knowlton. The family would like to thank Dr. Giannetti’s team at the Heart Failure Clinic and all the staff on the Surgical Cardiac Ward, D7. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Ace’s memory to the Heart Failure Clinic at www.muhcfoundation.com (fund 69755; or Patricia at (514) 843-1543).