Ron Lafrenière, the author of the Field Guide to the Cinderella Stamps of Canada, died on Aug. 9 at age 57 due to an undiagnosed heart condition.
“We are devastated to announce the sudden passing of Ron Lafrenière, who left us far too soon and with so much yet to do,” reads his obituary in his hometown Montreal Gazette. “His final moments were on the beautiful remote beach of a quiet lake after a memorable day of canoeing.”
Lafrenière retired about six months before the pandemic following a 25-year career as a medical research professional in the academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
“A true Renaissance man, Ron was, among other things, a skilled researcher, a genealogist, a poet and writer, an artist and a collector of many things – most notably stamps and insects.”
He released the first edition of his Field Guide through Bird Bear Press, his private publishing company, in 2012 followed by an expanded second edition three years later. He was only a few entries away from completing the 1,000-page third and final edition, which will be posthumously published by his family.
A ceremony, which can be watched at bit.ly/3CDpQlW, and a celebration of life took place on Aug. 28.