Peder Mortensen, by all accounts, lived a solitary life. But somehow, the man dubbed by some as the Vaudreuil ‘hermit’ or ‘wizard’ has left a void in his community that will be hard to fill.
Mortensen, 86, passed away last Thursday at the Ormstown Hospital.
When neighbour Joe Tedesco moved in next door 10 years ago, he saw Mortensen’s makeshift home he built by hand and asked the realtor, “What’s the story there?”
“The vendors said to us, ‘Who, he? He’s the best neighbour you would want.’ And true to form, that’s what happened,” said Tedesco.
Mortensen immigrated from Denmark to work for Expo 67. The former structural engineer built his home by hand in 1962, and since then he always had a project on the go.
“He had a custom-made bicycle that he built with a yellow cover over which he used to drive around the town for many years. And he actually had a patent,” said his neighbour for 30 years, Bob Hart.
The 86-year-old lived without internet or modern appliances and found ways to repurpose everyday items on his property.
“He loved the sardines. He had sardine cans galore and he used them as sound barriers, as insulators,” said Tedesco
Global News first met Mortensen in 2016 when the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion threatened to send him to a nursing home. Neighbours rallied behind him, and the move was cancelled.
Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon says he now realizes Mortensen was happiest in his secluded sanctuary.
“I’m very surprised because I thought he was going to live for over 100 years,” said Pilon.
City Councillor Céline Chartier started to check on Mortensen six years ago, after the city expressed concern for him living alone. But Mortensen didn’t allow her inside, until she brought one of her dogs.
“So the dog opened the door for me and he would let me invite me in and he would give me his chair. And he was at the corner of his bed and we would talk for an hour at a time,” she said.
Chartier brought Mortensen to the hospital last week when he could no longer swallow. Lying in pain in his hospital bed, she got to bring in her four-legged friend to see him.
“We put the dog in the bed beside Peder. And he calmed down and the dog put his head on his stomach and my dog was there for two and a half hours without budging,” said Chartier.
The next day, Mortensen died. The 86-year-old was a firm believer in staying active and took daily walks around the community. Neighbours only wish they had one more chance to say hello while he passed by.
“We miss Peter already, we miss his daily walks… yeah, we miss him,” said Todesco.
“Best neighbour anyone could want to have, basically.”
With no family in Canada to inherit his home, Chartier and Mortensen’s neighbours are searching for any remaining family in Denmark.
Neighbours say they would like to see the home preserved as a way to honour Mortensen, but Chartier says unless they can find his next of kin, the property will belong to Revenu Québec.
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