L. Joseph Theophile Decary

L. Joseph Theophile Decary, an architect of pronounced ability and prominently known as a water color artist, was born at St. Jerome, Quebec, September 21, 1882, a son of Jean Baptiste and Marie Theolinde (Lauzon) Decary, natives of Lachine and St. Jerome respectively. When the north was open for settlement in 1876 the father went to St. Jerome to establish business as a jeweler and has there since resided. He is of the eighth generation in direct descent from Jean Decarys, who came to Canada with Maisonneuve in 1642. The name has since been variously spelled Decary, Decaire and Descarries.

L. Joseph Theophile Decary, whose name introduces this record, pursued a commercial course in St. Jerome, leaving the school there in 1900. He afterward spent a year in a pharmaceutical establishment and a year as a telegraph operator at St. Jerome Junction on the Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern of Quebec Railroads. When nineteen years of age he left home, without funds, to go to Boston, hoping there to find the opportunity which would enable him to develop his latent talents in drawing. From an early age he had displayed considerable ability in that direction and believed that his line of life should be determined thereby. After reaching Boston he secured a situation in an architect’s office which brought him a salary of two dollars per week. He learned quickly and won the confidence and assistance of Guy Lowell, architect, who sent him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston in October, 1903. There he followed a special course in architecture until 1905, and he now holds a degree from the association of architects of the Province of Quebec Architects’ Association. Following his return to Canada he opened an office in Montreal, where he has since practiced his profession, his ability gaining him a large clientage. He made the architectural design and plans for the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales of Montreal for Messrs. Gauthier and Daoust. His talent has been further developed in the field of fine arts as shown in his exhibitions in water colors at the season exhibit of the Art Association of Montreal in 1910. He is a member of the National Gallery of Ottawa.

On the 23d of April, 1906, at Point St. Charles, Montreal, Mr. Decary was united in marriage to Hattie G. Blanchard, a daughter of Captain J. B. Blanchard and widow of John Weatherburn. In his political views Mr. Decary is a liberal and is without political ambition or aspiration. He finds pleasant association with men of similar professional talents in the Technology Club of Lower Canada and interest and recreation through his membership in the St. John Yacht Club, of which he was vice commodore in the year 1913.