They died before their time: Notable Montrealers and other Quebecers who died young

1759 Montcalm, 47, (1712-1959) French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War

1759 James Wolfe, 32, (1727-1759)  British Army officer known for his victory in 1759

1847 John Easton Mills, 50, onetime Montreal mayor (1796-1847) 

1868 Thomas D'Arcy McGee, 42, politician, (1825-1868) Assassinated

D'Arcy McGee

1912 Louis Cyr, 49,  strongman (1863-1912) Chronic nephritis

1917 Talbot Papineau, 34, war hero (1883-1917) Died in WWI

1919 Joe Hall hockey player, 37, (1881-1919) died of Spanish flu

1920 Aurore Gagnon, 10, martyr child, (1910-1920) Parental abuse

1926 Georges Vezina, 39, hockey goaltender (1887-1926) Tuberculosis

Vezina

1935 Charley Trudeau, 47, (1887-1935)

1937 Howie Morenz, 35, hockey player, (1902-1937

1941 La Bolduc, 47, singer (1894-1941)

La Bolduc

1941 Emile Nelligan, 62, poet, (1879-1941)

1943 Hector de Saint Deny, 31,  painter and poet (1912-1943)

1948 Ovila Pelletier, 46, cop who worked with youth. (1902-1948).

1954 Johnny Greco, boxer, 31, (1923-1954) Car crash

John Greco

1960 Paul Sauve, 53, premier of Quebec (1907-1960)

1962 Gordie Moore, 42, newspaper cartoonist (1920-1962) 

1968 Daniel Johnson, 53, Quebec premier (1915-1968) Heart attack

1970 Rene Beaudoin, 57, speaker of the House of Commons (1912-1970) Heart attack

1971 Michel Briere, 22, hockey player (1949-1971) Car accident

1973 Jean-Jacques Bertrand, 57, Quebec premier 68-70 (1916-1973) Heart attack

1978 Paolo Violi, 46, mob boss, (1931-1978) Shot dead in his former cafe on Jean Talon

1978 Marie Uguay, 26, poet (1955-1981). From Ville Emard. Killed by bone cancer. A library is named after her.

1978 Andrew Marquis, 48, TV news anchorman. (1930-1978). Moved to Montreal from out West in 1969. Massive heart attack.

1982 Gilles Villeneuve, 32,  F-1 racer (1950-1982). Died in a splashy race car accident.

Villeneuve

1983 Claude Vivier, 35, Composer (1948-1983) Murdered in Paris by male prostitute 

1985 Camille Tourville, 57, wrestler Tarzan Tyler (1927-1985) Car crash near Chicoutimi

1985 Frank Shoofey, 44, Criminal defence lawyer (1941-1985) Shot dead at his office, murder unsolved

1986 Claude Jutra, 56, filmmaker (1930-1986) Coped with Alzheimers, found dead in a river

1986 Stuart Hilton 17, boxer (1969-1986). Died in vehicle accident. Brother of the boxing Hilton family.

1987 Rene Levesque, 65, Quebec premier (1922-1987) Heart attack

1987  Alain Montpetit, 36, radio personality (1950-1987) Drugs

1989 Victor Davis, 25, swimmer (1964-1989). Run over following a barroom dispute in Ste. Anne de

Davis

Bellevue.

1990 Gerry Boulet, 44, rock musician (1946- 1990) Cancer

1991 Ted Tilden, 61, Rental car company owner (1930-1991) Heart attack

1991 Sidney Leithman, 54, Criminal defence lawyer (1936-1991) Shot dead driving in TMR

1992 John Kordic, 27, hockey player known for fighting (1964-1992). Died of a cocaine overdose in

Kordic

Quebec City

1992 Michel" Bunny" Larocque, 40, Montreal Candiens goaltender (1952-1992) Cancer

1993 Douglas Leopold, 49, radio personality (1954-1993) HIV

1993 Gino Bresciano, aka westler Dino Bravo, 44,  (1948-1993) Shot dead while watching hockey on TV in a still-unsolved murder. 

1994 Gerald Godin, 56, politician, poet (1938-1994)  Cancer

1994-Robert Ostiguy, 50, Mayor of Richelieu, Quebec (1944-1994) Suicide as part of Solar Temple Cult 

1995 Allan McCarthy, 38, keyboard player for Men Without Hats (1957-1995) Died of HIV.

McCarthy

1996 Robert Bourassa, 63, longtime Quebec premier (1933-1996) Cancer

1996 Ian Stephens, 41, poet (1955-1996) HIV

1997 Marie-Soleil Tougas, 27, actress (1970-1997) Died in plane crash in northern Quebec 

1997 Jean-Claude Lauzon, 43, filmmaker (1953-1997) Died in same crash as Tougas, his girlfriend

1998 Nick Auf der Maur, 55, municipal politician, newspaper columnist (1942-1998) Cancer

1998 Serge Lemoyne, 57, artist best known for his painting of Ken Dryden's mask (1941-1998)

1999 Gaétan Girouard, 33, TV news host (1965-1999) Suicide, said to have led many others to commit

Girouard

suicide thereafter

2002 Jacques Richard, 50, onetime NHL 50 goal scorer (1952-2002) Cocaine addicted retired player died in car crash.

2003 Michelle Tardif, 36, aka Mimi Tardif or Mimi (Re)Tardif, journalist, personality, girlfriend of

Tardif

Meat Puppets band leader (1967-2003). Drugs. 

2004 Alex Soria, 39, rock musician, (1965-2004) suicide on railway tracks in St. Henri

1996 Michel Plasse, 58, Canadiens goaltender (1948-2006) Cancer

2000 Dede Fortin, 38, rock musician, leader of Colocs band (1962-2000)  Suicide

Fortin

2007 George Thurston, 55, singer known as Boule Noire, (1951-2007) Cancer

2009 Nelly Arcan, novelist, 36, (1973-2009) former prostitute died of suicide 

2009 Arturo Gatti, 37, boxer (1972-2009) Murdered in Brazil

2010 Lhasa de Sela, 37, singer (1972-2010) Breast cancer

De Sela

2010 Kate McGarrigle, 63, musician, singer, (1944-2010) Cancer

2016 Jean Lapierre, political analyst, (1956-2016) Plane crash

2017 Patrick Bourgeois, 55, (singer Les BBs)  (1972-2017) Cancer

2018 Rick Genest, 32, aka Zombie Boy, tattoo model, (1985-2018) Fell off balcony