Vaudreuil hermit leaves lasting legacy in community, despite living life of solitude – Montreal

Peder Mortensen, by all accounts, lived a solitary life. However in some way, the person dubbed by some because the Vaudreuil ‘hermit’ or ‘wizard’ has left a void in his neighborhood that will probably be arduous to fill.

Mortensen, 86, handed away final Thursday on the Ormstown Hospital.

When neighbour Joe Tedesco moved in subsequent door 10 years in the past, he noticed Mortensen’s makeshift residence he constructed by hand and requested the realtor, “What’s the story there?”

“The distributors stated to us, ‘Who, he? He’s the perfect neighbour you’ll need.’ And true to kind, that’s what occurred,” stated Tedesco.

Mortensen immigrated from Denmark to work for Expo 67. The previous structural engineer constructed his residence by hand in 1962, and since then he all the time had a challenge on the go.

“He had a custom-made bicycle that he constructed with a yellow cowl over which used to drive across the city for a few years. And he really had a patent,” stated his neighbour for 30 years, Bob Hart.

The 86-year-old lived with out web or fashionable home equipment and located methods to repurpose on a regular basis objects on his property.

“He beloved the sardines. He had sardine cans galore and he used them as sound limitations, as insulators,” stated Tedesco

World Information first met Mortensen in 2016 when the town of Vaudreuil-Dorion threatened to ship him to a nursing residence. Neighbours rallied behind him, and the transfer was cancelled.

Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Man Pilon says he now realizes Mortensen was happiest in his secluded sanctuary.

“I’m very shocked as a result of I believed he was going to reside for over 100 years,” stated Pilon.

Metropolis Councillor Céline Chartier began to verify on Mortensen six years in the past, after the town expressed concern for him residing alone. However Mortensen didn’t enable her inside, till she introduced one in all her canines.

“So the canine opened the door for me and he would let me invite me in and he would give me his chair. And he was on the nook of his mattress and we might discuss for an hour of the time,” she stated.

Chartier introduced Mortensen to the hospital final week when he may not swallow. Mendacity in ache in his hospital mattress, she received to usher in her four-legged good friend to see him.

“We put the canine within the mattress beside Peter. And he calmed down and the canine put his head on his abdomen and my canine was there for 2 and a half hours with out budging,” stated Chartier.

The following day, Mortensen died. The 86-year-old was a agency believer in staying lively and took every day walks across the neighborhood. Neighbours solely want they’d yet one more likelihood to say hi there whereas he handed by.

“We miss Peter already, we miss his every day walks… yeah, we miss him,” stated Todesco.

“Finest neighbour anybody may wish to have, mainly.”

With no household in Canada to inherit his residence, Chartier and Mortensen’s neighbours are looking for any remaining household in Denmark.

Neighbours say they want to see the house preserved as a solution to honour Mortensen, however Chartier says until they will discover his subsequent of kin, the property will belong to Revenu Québec.