Obituary of Roger Gervaise Reuillard

ROGER GERVAISE REUILLARD- It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Roger Gervaise Reuillard, 85, of Union, Maine, who passed away on May 20, 2023 at the Sussman House in Rockport Maine. Roger is survived by his wife Joanne and four children: Mark, Maria, Gregory and Derek Reuillard, their spouses, and his 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Roger was predeceased by his parents Camille and Mercedes and his brother Serge, all of Buffalo, New York.
 

Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1938, Roger’s first watercolor award was from the Carnegie Institute won at age 12 when he was high school freshman. At age 18, his work was accepted in the 22nd annual Western New York art exhibit at the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. Mr. Reuillard was the youngest entrant ever accepted into this prestigious show. Having graduated from the University of Buffalo’s Albright School of Art with a degree in commercial art, he worked in the commercial art field as an airbrush illustrator and photo-retouch-er in Western New York for 21 years before moving to Maine in 1977 to concentrate on his fine art.
 

With his lifelong love, Joanne, Roger purchased an 1845 church building in Kennebunkport renovating it into “The Kennebunks Chapel Gallery”. Here, he established a year-round art teaching center. Summer workshops and off-season watercolor painting and drawing classes were offered at the center. He sold the Art Center in the mid 1980’s when planning to move to mid-coast Maine.
 

Roger’s work hangs in industrial, commercial, and private collections around the US, Canada and Europe. Roger was president and founder of numerous art guilds in New York and Maine. His love of watercolor painting and his many years of teaching this elusive medium have added a rich new interpretation of the many subjects that abound in Maine.

Through his art, Roger enjoyed creating original interpretations of the world around him in hopes that he might capture the attention of the viewer. He wanted the viewer to pause for a moment to see the world in a new, interesting, and creative way, so life would be more meaningful. Roger and his wife Joanne moved to Union, Maine, in 1991, where they purchased an older farm complex overlooking Seven Tree Pond. Their home, a constant work in progress for Roger, was filled with his creative and artistic touches. The barn became Roger’s new art studio in which he taught watercolor and drawing classes. The family enjoyed gathering “on the hill” with Joanne and Roger. Roger’s great pleasures was caring for all God’s creatures; from rescuing several Greyhounds to his morning feedings of a local flock of crows. His greatest pleasure though was his wife of 63 years Joanne.
 

Our gentle Roger will be missed by his family and God’s creatures he cared for on the hill.