Eric Archambault passed away peacefully at home on May 25th surrounded by his beloved family including his wife Paula (nee Walker), daughter Jennifer Lawrence (Scott Emmons), son Robert Lawrence, and his adorable baby grand-daughter Meredith Lawrence-Emmons. He will be dearly missed by his brother-in-law Michael Walker and his wife Malika, and his nephew Christoper (Gabrielle) and niece Maria (Anthony).
Eric was born in Montreal in 1964 and was predeceased by his loving parents Dr. Raymond Archambault and Yvette Mallette. He was an avid cyclist and racewalker, and passionate about the arts and supporting his local community.
Eric graduated from Carleton University in 1988 and went on to complete graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills Michigan in 1994. He worked for a variety of architectural firms including Montreal based Shulim Rubin architecte, and Ottawa based Gary Stunden Architect, Lemay, Dorval, Fortin, Doyle Architects, and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, before finding his true passion as a teacher.
His love of teaching allowed him to experience art and culture across the world and he spent several years teaching in Finland as a guest lecturer at the Lahti Polytechnic Institute of Technology and the University of Oulu Dept. of Architecture. He returned home to Ottawa and completed his career as an Adjunct Professor and Sessional Lecturer at Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism, Carleton University where he taught for the past 20 years.
Eric’s life was defined less by his work and more by his gentle character and the relationships he had with his friends, colleagues, students, and most importantly, his family. Eric was a step-father only in legal terms, having raised, nurtured and loved his children Jen and Rob from ages 6 and 2 respectively. He was a devoted and loving father who focused on family first. Paula and Eric met in Toronto and eventually settled in Ottawa where they were blessed with an ordinary life of simple pleasures, and an extraordinary life of deep love for each other.
Eric’s illness came as a complete shock to the family and throughout his 5 year cancer journey he provided lessons in hope, positivity and resilience that will stay with his loved ones forever. Perhaps because of his architectural training, Eric found a way to make hope fit into a space that others wouldn’t have thought possible. His love for his family sustained and defined him. When he became a very proud Popi in September his determination to live was renewed because of his immense love for baby Meredith. We were and will always be very proud of him.
He will forever be in our hearts.
Bon soir
Bonne nuit
Beaux rêves mon amour
Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life on Wednesday, June 12th at Beechwood Cemetery (280 Beechwood Ave. Ottawa, ON) from 1-3pm
Digital Guestbook
Federica Goffi
Adriana Ross
Dear Eric, you are a great mentor, a colleague and a friend. I will deeply miss our short but always exciting conversations on the street at the architectural building before rushing to Studio classes . Rest in peace, Eric.
Susan Batista
Dear Paula and all of Eric’s people who are now mourning the loss of a truly remarkable man.
I wish there were words that capture profound loss and provide a way forward to follow. I do know everyone’s journey is different. What I have learned is grief is not a problem to be fixed nor a timeline to be followed.
Grief is ours to feel and carry as we find our own path that honours their memory as we move forward with sadness and the hole in our lives that has now been created with loss. It hurts because we loved and it is hard because we miss them so terribly.
We do learn how to move forward nonetheless in our own way.
I am here. I hurt with you. I am sad with you.
Xox S
Honorata Pieńkowska
Very sad that Eric left, sorry for the grief that causes, happy to have known him.
Jim Curtiss
Eric made a quiet but significant difference in the world...and in my life. Never to be forgotten.
Janine Debanné
Eric was a quietly humble rock in our School, and a gentle brilliant sage who was so dedicated to the students. Always serious in his teaching, Eric welcomed moments of humour and brought light all around him... There will be a missing piece now. From our days as classmates in the BArch, Eric showed me nothing but kind encouragement; teaching with him later in our lives was an honour.
Tu vas nous manquer cher Éric. Repose en paix, homme de courage dont le calme nous a toujours fait tant de bien.
Janine
Yvan Cazabon
My condolences to Eric's family. He was a great friend and an inspiration as a teaching colleague and collaborator. Rest in peace my friend
Angela Bernhardt
Paula and family, my sincere condolences. I am grateful we were able to get to know Eric, if only for a short time. I delighted in every visit we had. He will be missed here at Kanaal. What a beautiful tribute.
Anne Lalande & Chris Wanczycki
So very sorry for the loss of Eric, condolences to Paula and family. Eric was a wonderfully positive person.
Philippe Doyle
Thanks for being my friend. I will miss you. Eric had a lot of his Mom's gentle nature in him and he carried that with him in everything he did. I had the privilege of knowing him while in school and later on of working with him. He always had the correct words to synthesize a situation as well as the courage to find encouraging ones for his students. To Paula Jen and Rob, Louise and I offer our sincerest condolences.
Eric will be truly missed at our school. He was the kindest person and a wonderful teacher to all students. I admired his strength of character at all times, and especially over the recent years, seeing how his love for teaching remained the same, always!