Christian Sarrazin

In Zurich, on September 18, 2017, surrounded by his family, Christian Sarrazin passed away peacefully of a rare neurological disease.

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Benoit-Sarrazin, his children François-Xavier, Laurence and Dominique, born to his first wife, Suzanne Lafleur, his sons-in-law Eric Ludlum and Guy-Emmanuel Septier, his grandchildren Beatrice, Delphine and Djovan, his brothers Robert, Gaston and Normand, his sisters Rolande Sabourin and Micheline, his sisters-in-law Marie-Luce Ethier, Giselle Lépine and Simone Roy, his brother-in-law, Denis Gagnon, and several nephews, nieces and friends.

Christian was born October 28, 1949 in Ferme-Neuve, Quebec, and was the son of the late Oscar and Cécile Sarrazin, brother of the late André and step-father of the late Justin Young.

An economics student at McGill University, Christian earned a Master's degree in economics from the University of Leuven, Belgium. In 1974, at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Christian was posted to San Francisco and Beijing and was Canada's first consul general in Shanghai. After a distinguished career of more than 20 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, Christian moved to the private sector and held senior positions in the telecommunications sector in Asia-Pacific. Back in Canada, he worked at SOCAN until his retirement in 2013.

Tireless traveler and passionate film buff, for a dozen years Christian blogged his "incidental musings from a frequent traveller to keep family and close friends aware of our movements and activities!".

A reception will be held in Montreal on Friday, April 20, 2018 for family and friends of Christian, and a religious service will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018 in Ferme-Neuve.

Christian's family thank everyone for their unwavering support. He was deeply respected, admired and loved by everyone who knew him.

In memory of Christian, please support research in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) by visiting www.medecine.umontreal.ca/don and clicking "in memoriam Christian Sarrazin" in the section "Faculté de médecine de l'Université de Montréal : information sur le don". All gifts will be transferred to "PSP Research". Christian's family and friends gratefully thank you for generously supporting this important research.