John Papillon

John Y. Papillon, 89, CAMARILLO, CA

John Y. (Jean-Yves) Papillon passed away on December 1, 2023 at Atria Las Posas, Assisted Living facility following a long 21-year battle with cancer.

John is survived by Aline Papillon (Beauchamp), his beloved wife of 68 years, whom he met in 1954 in Montreal during her employment at a local Drug Wholesaler. They married on August 6th, 1955. They went on to have 3 sons, Marc (Bernadette) living in Southport, North Carolina, Luc (Diana) in Camarillo, California, and André (Kristine) in Fremont, Indiana. John also leaves 6 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren including Christina (Stephen Smith and Lizzie) from Easley, South Carolina, Michael from Camarillo, California, Andrew (Cheyenne Nitsche and Baylee) from Huntington Beach, California and Christian, Ava-Marie and Jean-Paul from Fremont, Indiana.

As one of nine siblings, John was preceded in death by two of his sisters and one brother residing in Canada including Lucie Teijeira (2021), Guy Papillon (2022) and Huguette Guay (2023). He is survived by 3 sisters and 2 brothers, also in Canada, including Ghislaine Chouinard, Monique Pigeon (Réal), Claude Papillon (Nicole), Odette Papillon and Jocelyn Papillon (Christiane). He is also survived by his widowed sister-in-law Jocelyne Papillon.

Born on July 6th, 1934 to Jean-Marie Papillon (2005) and Blanche-Alice (Jodoin) Papillon (1990) in Montreal, Canada. His secondary education included prep school in a Terrebonne, Quebec Seminary where he eventually left to pursue other life options including early construction jobs with his father until he landed an opportunity for work in a local Drug Store.

After attending Pharmacy School in 1959 at the University of Montreal, he continued working in retail Pharmacies until he eventually joined Charles E. Frosst Company in 1960 as a Pharmaceutical Representative.

In 1970, he went on to fulfill his dreams with a bold move eventually moving the entire family from Quebec City to Los Angeles, California. There, he continued to pursue his career in pharmaceutical sales initially with Dome Laboratories then on to Neutrogena Corporation / Johnson & Johnson Company in 1972 where he had a successful long career building key skin care brands with dermatologists in a variety of responsibilities that spanned many states across the West Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions until his retirement in 2000. John’s broad industry knowledge was also periodically sought by brief key corporate assignments with companies in a variety of fields such as hair regrowth, dental care, and cosmetics. His hallmark personality, magnetic French accent and a gift of conversation earned him respect and accolades from virtually everyone he met as a major component of his success.

John will be celebrated for his 68 years of marriage, unending love, and strong commitment to his wife Aline where they enjoyed virtually every aspect of their lives together. They relished occasional adventures by car, a passion for shopping and hosting their children for holidays

which was always a hallmark of the year. His unending love for his wife was demonstrated until his final days when he sought constant assurances that she would be taken care of.

His focus on work ethic and a sense of responsibility was imprinted early on his sons, whom he was proud of, having understood the meaning of making positive contributions in their lives. His pride kept him fighting until the end with a cancer thought to be in remission for nearly 21 years until he eventually succumbed to the disease.

John left many impressions in his life including many superb works of art, his ability to fix most things, his love of opera, classical music, and history. He is best remembered, and will be missed, for lighting up the room wherever he was, whether a cashier at the local grocery store, the post office, professional conferences, or family events where there was never a shortage of engaging conversations and many late nights. He also enjoyed cooking particularly after he retired and never gave up being active not to mention working on projects, mowing the lawn, or shoveling out of a snow storm until he was 86 years old.

A Vigil will be offered on Saturday, December 16th at 5:30 PM at Perez Family Funeral Home, 1347 Del Norte Rd, Camarillo, CA 93010.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, December 18th at 11:00 AM at Padre Serra Catholic Church, 5205 Upland Rd, Camarillo, CA 93012. A private burial will be held immediately following the funeral mass at Assumption Catholic Cemetery in Simi Valley California.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in John’s memory to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741