Jean Marie Lacombe
From Glengarryceltic
They lived with his uncle Hormidas Lacombe, a cheese maker, and his wife Marie-Anne Filion in Glen Robertson, since they had raised his mother when she was orphaned at an early age. Marie-Anne was his grandmother's sister. When Jean Marie's mother married his father, they lived under the same roof as a family and his father began working at the cheese factory with uncle Hormidas.
In their time, his father and uncle would play the violin, but his uncle also played the bagpipes. Jean-Marie's siblings were all musically inclinded and played one instrument or another, like the piano, violin, guitar and accordion.
As a boy, Jean-Marie attended a separate Catholic school in Glen Robertson which was located approximately half a mile from his home. Every morning until he finished grade 8, he would walk to his three classroom schoolhouse. During the summer months he worked on a neighbour's farm or in his father's workshop. His father's trade was making hockey sticks and different wooden handles for axes, hammers and picks.
When he turned sixteen years old, Jean-Marie worked on construction crews doing mainly bricklaying and stone. For three summers he traveled to Simcoe and Tillsonburg Ontario for the tobacco harvest.
In 1953, Jean-Marie married Cécile Vernier. The couple moved to Vankleek Hill, where Jean-Marie started working for G. & G. Construction as a labourer, mixing mortar and cement while they built Glengarry District High School. He and Cécile currently have seven children, fourteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Jean-Marie worked as a contractor for many years, finally retiring in 1990. Since he has always been interested in musical instruments, he turned it into a hobby. His passion is for violins. He enjoys playing and repairing them, and has made six Guarnerius models. In 1984, he made a five-string violin (combined violin and viola) which was largely publicized. It got him a few television interviews in 1985 on TVA, Regional Contact, and TFO.
Today, Jean-Marie continues to enjoy the violin, playing with the Lochiel Strings. He says, "all in all, I can honestly say that life has been good to me and the world of music has made it even better."
