Demontfort Pageau, son of Alfred Elzéar Pageau and Délima Goulet, was born July 20, 1900, in Ottawa. He married Dorina Parent in 1928. 

On March 28, 1941, he enlisted voluntarily at the age of 41. By January 1942, he left his wife and five children to sail to Europe with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. His job was to pick up and repair damaged tanks left in the fields at the Front. In addition to his pay, he received an allowance to help his wife and three of his five children. (This was the case at the time.)

Meanwhile, back home, Mrs. Pageau worked hard to earn money. The cost of rent in 1942 was $30 a month. She worked for Morrison-Lamothe, did laundry and ironing for the better-off ladies, and rented rooms to English-speaking women, all to make ends meet. Through her work, with the help of her eldest daughter, one of her sisters and other relatives, she “held things together” for three years (January 1942 to October 1945) with five children but without a husband. Everything was expensive: food and especially shoes. So the children had to do their part by taking care of their belongings and asking for little.

We often talk about the men who went overseas at a young age to join the armed forces. But what about the women of this country? War work was also carried out in Canada in aircraft, bomb and ammunition factories; offices and stores; multiple volunteer organizations; and all sectors of the Canadian economy. Dorina Pageau was one of those strong women who kept the home fires burning. 

DeMontfort returned from Europe on October 17, 1945. His father and mother had both passed away during his absence. Following his demobilization, he bought a house in L’Orignal in the hopes of getting a position as a guard at L’Orignal Jail. However, the position was assigned to someone else and Mr. Pageau went back to live on St. Patrick Street, in Ottawa.

After his wife passed away, he returned to live in L’Orignal.