Jean-Marie Brochu

Brochu was born in 1926 in Quebec City, the eldest of five children of Raoul Brochu and Yvonne Cormier. Shortly after his ordination, he was appointed secretary and notary at the Chancellery of the Archdiocese of Quebec, serving in that capacity for twenty years under Archbishop Maurice Roy. In 1972, Brochu became rector of the Saint-Charles Garnier parish in Sillery, a position he held until 1984. ==Radio career==

Beginning in 1962, Brochu broadcast daily inspirational messages on radio station CJLR, adopting the persona Monsieur le Bonheur ("Mr. Happiness"). His broadcasts later aired on stations CJRP and CHRC. By 2012, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the character, he had delivered more than 13,500 radio messages. He also appeared on television, including a seven-month run on TVA-Télé-4 in Quebec City. ==Le Noël du Bonheur==

On Christmas Eve 1963, Brochu launched a fundraising appeal on CJLR for patients at the Hôpital Saint-Augustin, founding the charitable organization Le Noël du Bonheur. The organization grew into a network of approximately 2,500 volunteers serving more than 8,000 chronically hospitalized patients across nearly 100 care facilities in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. Each patient received three gifts per year — for their birthday, Christmas, and Mother's Day or Father's Day — with the organization distributing between $300,000 and $320,000 annually in gifts and activities. In 2019, at the age of 93, Brochu stepped down as president of Le Noël du Bonheur and was named honorary president. ==Honours==

• 1998 – Governor General's Caring Canadian Award • 2003 – Member of the Order of Canada, invested on 30 October by Adrienne Clarkson • 2011 – Medal of the National Assembly of Quebec, presented on 29 November by Vanier MNA Patrick Huot ==Death==

Brochu died on 22 August 2020 at the CHSLD de Saint-Anselme, aged 94. ==References==