His life
1949, March 20 : Born at his parents' home, in Québec. His father, André Duval, was a notary, as was his grandfather, Arthur Duval. His mother, Fabienne Deschênes, was from the village of Saint-Léon de Maskinongé. Bernard is the first grandchild for both sides of the family. At his birth, he is welcomed into the world by his other grandfather, Rodolphe Deschênes, medical officer of health. Bernard is baptized the same day the Saint-Sacrement church.
1950 – 1959 : Happy childhood in Parc Falaise, Sillery, a new suburb under development. He starts school at four years of age and progresses rapidly.
1953 : Birth of a younger sister, Dominique, who survives only one day.
1954 : Birth of his sister Catherine.
1959 : The family moves back into the city to rue Manrèse in the Montcalm district. His parents also acquire a cottage on the shores of Lac Beauport, just beside the new golf course.
1959 – 1967 : Bernard starts his studies at the Collège des Jésuites de Québec where he remains for eight years. He participates in athletics, basketball and the choir Les Chanteurs de la Nouvelle-France. He is also involved in the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul society, the college newspaper and the Air Cadets. Interested in mathematics, science, philosophy and literature, he finally settles on medicine and its humanistic ideals.
1960 : Birth of his brother Nicolas.
1966 : Bernard joins the choir Les Rhapsodes. It is a group of dynamic young people who get together each week to sing popular music. The choir takes part in the choir festival Les Choralies de Trois-Rivières and performs at Expo '67.
1967 – 1972 : University studies at the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University in Québec.
1968, February 14 : Bernard notices a new recruit in the alto section of Les Rhapsodes; it is France, who would become his wife four years later.
1970 : Three-month internship in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) with the organization Médecine Tiers-Monde.
1972 : Obtains his medical qualification and begins a residency in surgery, with the idea of specializing in orthopaedics. He plans to make an extended stay in Africa and insists on doing internships in obstetrics and in other subjects useful for remote areas.
1972, June 10 : Marriage to France Lavoie at the Saint-Yves church, followed by a reception at home of the parents of the bride, rue de Samos.
1973 - 75 : Posting in Niger with a CUSO rural health project. Spends the first year in Gouré in a small rural hospital, then in Zinder, where he is in charge of several health centres. It is his first contact with the field of public health.
1974 : His parents, his sister and several members of Les Rhapsodes meet the young couple in France for the choral festival at Vaison La Romaine, Provence.
1975 – 77 : Posting in Kumba, Cameroon with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Bernard is in charge of preventative medicine for a large territory and supervises activities in vaccination, tropical disease control (leprosy, bilharziosis, malaria), school health, mother and infant health, etc.
1976, July 21st : Birth of daughter Isabelle in Québec. Like her father, Isabelle is the first grandchild for both sides of the family. A month later, return to Africa with a short detour to Paris.
1977 - 78 : Studies at Harvard University for a master's degree in public health.
1978 : Back in Québec, Bernard joins the community health department of the CHUL as part of his residency.
1979 – 80 : Six-month posting to the Comoros Islands as part of a Laval University project.
1980 : Bernard completes his specialization in community health. The day after his last exam, September 5th, son François is born (4.77 kg).
1980 – 83 : Bernard is in charge of Projet Nord and makes frequent short visits to the Inuit villages on Hudson and Ungava Bay. From Africa to the Arctic...
1981 : Purchase of the first family home, 841 rue Bellevue in Sainte-Foy.
1983 – 86 : Posting in Dakar, Senegal with a project sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund and Laval University.
1986 : Back in Québec, Bernard joins the infectious diseases team of the Québec public health branch. He works on the AIDS file and develops an interest in Hepatitis B prevention. He helps set up the Québec Immunization Committee in 1990.
1988, March 1st : Birth of daughter Mireille, whose name reflects her parents’ attachment to the region of Provence.
1992 : The family moves from rue Bellevue to rue de Samos, into the house that had previously belonged to the Lavoie family.
1994 : The universal vaccination program for Hepatitis B is introduced into Québec schools. It is one of Bernard’s most important files. The following year, he begins a major, 15-year longitudinal study to measure the length of protection provided by this vaccine and the effect of a second dose. Two thousand young Québecers participate in the study.
1995 : Bernard helps to establish a team in vaccination research.
1997 : Bernard and France's 25th wedding anniversary. Bernard’s parents celebrate their golden anniversary at the same time.
1998 : Establishment of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. Bernard is the coordinator of the scientific group in immunization.
2003 : Radiation treatment for ocular melanoma.
2004 : Bernard becomes a member of the federal National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
2005 : Beginning of his involvement in the question of vaccination against infections caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and that are responsible for cervical cancer.
2007 : Development of hepatic metastases following the ocular melanoma; last trip to France with the entire family to take part in the Vaison La Romaine choral festival.
2008, April 11 : Launch of the Québec vaccination program against HPV infections. This was Bernard’s final project in public health.
2008, April 19 : Bernard passes away at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Québec. Funeral ceremony on April 24th at the Saint-Yves church, where he was married in 1972 and where 2 of the 3 children were baptized.
This website was built by Dominic Bellavance and Mireille Duval