Passed away peacefully at home in Victoria following a brief illness.
Predeceased by daughter Lucile and son Michel, Fernand is survived by his wife Mary McAllister; his children Nicole (Michel Paradis), Philip (Manee Khamto) and Catherine; his sister Denise Ledru and nephew Christophe Roussel; his granddaughter France Cordier (Christopher Delassus); and his cousin Constant Cordier.
Fernand was born in Evin-Malmaison, a commune in the Bassin minier du Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Although the family experienced the hardships of wartime occupation, education was always a priority, and Fernand was the recipient of a number of scholarships and prizes. A keen student of language, as a teenager he practised his skills interpreting between the French Resistance and Allied soldiers during the liberation of France; for this he earned the “Médaille Commémorative Française de la Guerre 1939/1945” with the bar “Libération”. After completing his education at the Université de Lille in 1946, he took a position as an English teacher at the Lycée d’Arras.
He seized an opportunity to come to Canada, arriving in Montréal in June of 1947 to join the newly formed International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized agency of the UN. There he excelled as a translator and was a pioneer in the emerging field of conference interpretation. As an interpreter he was respected and admired for his exquisite fluency in both French and English, for his calm, unassuming demeanour, and for his kindness and generosity towards newcomers entering the profession. When he retired in 1982 he was the Director of all ICAO language services.
In its early days, ICAO held many meetings in far-flung places, and Fernand enjoyed those opportunities to see the world before the advent of mass tourism. He was seconded to interpret at Expo 67 and at the 1976 Olympics, and he was often called to Radio-Canada to interpret during important events, such as the moon landing.
Always a keen athlete, Fernand’s first love was and remained soccer. In his retirement, however, he also came to love curling and was an active member of the Baie d’Urfé Curling Club. Fernand was an enthusiastic art collector, and over the years built an eclectic collection.
A gathering to share memories of Fernand will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC. The family requests that all attendees be fully vaccinated.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
18 Responses
NIKITA KIRILOFF
FERNAND CORDIER : LE GENTLEMAN – INTERPRÈTE ! J’AI EU LE PRIVILÈGE DE TRAVAILLER DEUX ANS À L’OACI SOUS SA DIRECTION. SA GENTILLESSE ET SON SAVOIR SONT INOUBLIABALES ! LE F L E U R O N DE LA PROFESSION !
Mes sincères condoléances à toute la famille de ce compatriote interprète comme moi et précurseur.
Chère Mary
Les souvenirs d’enfance me reviennent. Fernand était un super doué et avait une mémoire impressionnante.
A six ans, il dessinait le portrait de la vieille dame voisine.
Il était doué aussi bien au football qu’en musique quand il jouait de l’harminoca.
A l’arrivée des Amùéricains dans Evin, nous étions tous les 2 sur le trottoir devant la droguerie Martinache et je l’ai vu partir avec eux pour leur servir d’interprète.
Je te souhaite bon courage et t’embrasse ainsi que toute la famille.
Constant
I was so saddened to read in the Montreal Gazette that Fernand had died. I have such strong and fond memories of Fernand: interpreting with him, of course, the master that he was, and also his impatience with speakers who blathered on endlessly without saying anything much, the cigar eternally clamped between his teeth up until the day he gave up smoking (and informed me so irritatingly how easy it had been for him to give (when I myself was suffering from acute cigarette withdrawal (in the pre-Nicorette days), his fabulous garden in Baie d’Urfe where he showed me around so justifiably proudly – I was blown away by the beauty and imaginativeness of it. He was a steadfast friend and colleague whom I will truly miss. You will not be forgotten, Fernand. My deepest condolences to Mary and the rest of the family.
I was sorry to read of Fern’s passing. I have many happy memories of golf games and dinners shared by friends. Sincerest sympathies.
Denise LEDRU
C’est avec émotion que je me souviens des moments passés avec mon frère lorsque nous habitions Evin Malmaison puis de son départ au Canada;
Il revenait ensuite tous les deux ans avec sa petite famille et nous passions des vacances sur la Côte d’Azur en famille.
Entre-temps quand j’étais enfant il m’envoyait parfois des colis de jouets et de friandises.
J’ai toujours été fière de mon frère et ne l’oublierai jamais.
Chère Mary,
Je vous adresse mes sincères condoléances.
Je me souviens avec émotion de Fernand, grand ami et collègue de mon père, de l’homme à la main verte qui murmurait à l’oreille des fleurs et grand boucanier de l’île aux pins.
Je suis de tout cœur avec vous et avec toute la famille Cordier.
Patrick Raineri
Affectée par le décès de Fernand, mon ancien beau frère.
Acceptez mes sincères condoléances.
Une Evinoise. Marie-Jeanne