If you went to any of the Gabrielite schools (Montfort School — primary and secondary, St Gabriel's primary and secondary, Assumption English School, Assumption Pathway School and Boys' Town English School), or perhaps spent some years at Boys' Town, chances are you'll know who Brother Emmanuel is.

At the age of 83, the veteran educator who hailed from Montreal in Canada, passed away from a pancreatic inflammation on Aug. 31.

His funeral was held on Monday, Sept. 4.

He is fondly remembered as a witty, jovial, caring and also strict and firm mentor, especially to his charges who boarded at Boys' Town, an institution that journeys with disadvantaged youth.

And from the tributes to Br Emmanuel (whose birth name is Pierre-Paul Gaudette), comes a fascinating story about the life he led — and how he so resolutely dedicated it to serving the people of a foreign land, Singapore.

Entered religious life at age 12

Gaudette was born on Oct. 28, 1933 in Montreal, and spoke only French growing up. His mother died when he was very young, and by the time he was about 11, he expressed his desire to join the religious brotherhood of St Gabriel.

Initially his father refused to grant him permission to do so, saying he was too young and that he would "break the hearts of many girls". But a year later, another tragedy happened: Gaudette's aunt, who stepped in to replace his mother's role in the family, passed away.

It was only then that Gaudette received his father's blessing, and joined the Catholic Brothers of St Gabriel when he was 12. From there, he learned English in India, and eight years later, was sent to Singapore in 1954.

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"Never meant to be elite" schools

Br Emmanuel said previously that the Gabrielite schools were never meant to be "elite" schools, academically. The ethos of the Brothers of St Gabriel, after all, was to lift up the poorest, most abandoned and most rejected of people, and the schools they ran did their best to look after "the child who needs help".

He said in 2006:

"We don’t aspire to be the top but to reach out to all, especially the rejected ones. We also specialise in training children who have no special attraction to education by providing them basic technical education."

And despite not having any proper educational qualifications, he started teaching — at what was then called the Holy Innocents' English School (now known as the Montfort School), he and his fellow Brothers (he recalls eight of them) stayed together in a small room at the school, and suffered significant hardship, especially during the Second World War.

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During the Japanese Occupation, two brothers were made prisoners-of-war (POWs) at Changi Prison, while the rest were sent to camps in Bahau, Malaya.

"None of the brothers who suffered through the war... when they went back on leave, they wanted to come back... (and they all said) I want to go and die in Singapore."

Interestingly, it was while being incarcerated as POWs that the two Singapore-citizen brothers dreamed up Boys' Town, which they then established in 1948, amid the ruins of the war.

"Very, very proud to be a Singaporean"

And yes, he may be angmoh, but Br Emmanuel identified as Singaporean through and through. He said that when he arrived at Singapore's immigration checkpoints, he was asked how long he would be here, and right away, he responded "For life", even though as a missionary, it was possible he might get allocated or sent to other countries.

And yes, his career trajectory in the educational service in Singapore was pretty amazing for someone with "no qualifications" — here's how he describes it:

"I went to the Montfort School in 1954 without qualification, I went to St Gabriel's without qualification, I went to Boys' Town without qualification, became principal of school without qualification, became provincial-superior without qualification, and chairman of the Catholic Welfare Services without qualification... and I think God knows what he is doing."

And it's not as if he was doing a rubbish job — his contributions were recognised in medals and awards he couldn't himself keep track of:

He also hung out with the late president S R Nathan, who was huge on charity and charitable work in Singapore:

But as a religious person, he kept his eyes focused constantly on the prize: a simple item he wore around his neck:

A scapular and a crucifix, which give him the consolation and strength to do what he believed God wanted him to do for the people of Singapore.

A Straits Times report on his memorial also quoted his longtime colleague at Boys' Town saying he would joke about having problems with his legs, when moving in and out of a car, for instance:

"When we offered to help, he would say no I'm okay — just getting into the car in instalments!... (he would also often say I want to die in Boys' Town. Don't ever remove me from Boys' Town."

That's dedication to Singapore if we've ever seen it — a man who truly lived for Singapore.

RIP, Br Emmanuel, thank you for your contributions to Singapore and Singaporeans.

Watch the full video of his life, as told by him, here: