Jean-Marie Larroque died a few days ago. Pancreatic cancer killed him at the age of 72.
Jean-Marie was born on December 5, 1950. His father was from Gers, his mother from Corsica. He was born in Isère, in Livet-et-Gavet. He grew up with his two brothers, Patrice and Denis, in L’Argentière-la-Bessée, near Briançon. From childhood, Jean-Marie loved music. He started by joining the local marching band, he was a drummer. And all his life, music has accompanied him. Jazz above all, which he loved above all else.
Jean-Marie has spent his entire career at the SNCF. He started in 1973 as a controller in Lyon. And, of course, he quickly put together a small jazz group, with work colleagues, called “Loco Jazz”.
Jean-Marie married in 1986 with Christiane Rostang. Both settled in Saint-André-le-Gaz and gave birth to Ombéline in 1988. Alongside his work at the SNCF, Jean-Marie multiplied his activities. Every Tuesday evening, for fifteen years, he hosted a program on Radio Isa: Jazz Passion. He also played with the harmony of Saint-André-le-Gaz, still on drums. He gave music lessons, he also formed a musette group to animate the nursing homes in the area. He was also passionate about sound and for years sounded the shows of the school of Saint-André-le-Gaz, or even local theater companies.
In 2005, Jean-Marie retired. And then volunteered within the ADMR of Saint-André-le-Gaz as treasurer. He spent many hours managing employee payroll. He held this position until last year. He was also a director within the Fédération des ADMR de l’Isère and has done a lot to improve the quality of service.
Jean-Marie also had the joy of becoming a grandfather twice. His granddaughter Célia was born in 2013 and his grandson Théo in 2018. Both spent happy hours with their grandfather, who notably shared his passion for trains with them.
Two years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. Jean-Marie fought for many months against an illness that gave him little respite. However, he never gave up, enduring sometimes unbearable treatment. But the disease ended up winning. He leaves the memory of a modest and funny man, who, behind his eternal favourites, did not hesitate to tell a Corsican story or to try a few puns. He was also very cultured, unbeatable in Trivial Pursuit on questions of History or Geography. He leaves a great void in the hearts of his family.
