Obituary of Hermas Gervais
It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our Dad, Hermas Lionel Gervais, surrounded by love, on Sunday October 27th, 2024 at the Foyer Richelieu Welland, at the age of 92. Dear husband of the late Thérèse (Faucher) Gervais. Loving father of Joanne Richer (Sylvain), Carole Atkinson (Randy) and Gerald Gervais. He will be fondly remembered by his grandchildren Shawn (Ann), Jamie, Amy (Blake), David (Anagh), Bradley (Shannon), Maranda, Mila, Luci and Ava and by his great grandchildren, Randi, Sophie, Noah, Levi, Oliver, Priya, Bryson, Poppy, Anaiya and Brody. He was the dear “Mon Oncle” of many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Omer and Nellie Gervais, his 4 brothers Armand, Aurel, Marcel and John, his 6 sisters Aurore, Helene, Emma, Cecile, Gabrielle and Mathilda.
Hermas was born in Warren, Ontario in 1932. He came to Welland at the age of 11 with .50 cents in his pocket. Hermas was a hard worker. He worked at Inco, he was a taxi driver, a transport truck driver, and he worked for Page-Hersey. He was a visionary and wasn’t happy with his career path so he decided to pack up and move to California in 1960. He drove taxis in Los Angeles and became a partner of The Tamarack Steak House in Pico Rivera California in 1962. With a newfound passion, he moved back to Welland in 1965 to take over his brother’s restaurant, changing the name to The Hermas Drive-In Restaurant. In 1971, he took on a bigger challenge and built the first Steak House on the North side of Welland. The Casa Del Toro Steak House was his legacy. Hermas did several expansions from 1970 to 1989, which included a lounge and banquet hall for special events and the first 3 storey 75 room upscale hotel with indoor pool, this became The Casa Inn. Hermas was a dedicated member to his community until his retirement in 2005.
We will always remember him as a hardworking, honest and humble man and a devoted father who loved his family. His family loved him and they loved listening to his many stories of his childhood and life accomplishments. He really did travel each and every highway and did it his way. He was the greatest man we ever knew. He will be sadly missed by many.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the amazing staff at the Foyer Richelieu Welland. Their compassion, kindness and excellent care during such an emotional time was greatly appreciated.
The Gervais family will receive relatives and friends at the WELLAND FUNERAL HOME , CREMATION AND RECEPTION CENTRE, 827 East Main Street Welland, Monday December 16th from 10am until service time at 12pm, in the funeral home chapel. Interment of Hermas and his loving wife Thérèse will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. If desired, donations to the Fonds Foyer Richelieu will be greatly appreciated by the family.
