Emily, Colt, Judy and Bob

Fifth Cousin, once removed

Back in April 2005, I was contacted by Colt Drouillard, a US Soldier stationed in Iraq. Colt was browsing through my website but wasn’t able to find his branch of the Drouillard Family. He gave me some information about his family hoping I could help out. He was born in Chicago and lived in Georgia. His father Harvey was born in Ontario, Canada. His grandfather Gene lived in Ontario, Chicago and Arkansas.

I searched through all the families on the site and came up with a couple possibilities. The additional info provided by Colt was that his father grew up on a farm in Canada, they lived in Michigan for a bit, and he heard talk about someone in Palm Beach Florida whose dad was Maxime Drouillard.

The names and places sounded familiar to me and I was guessing Colt might be part of Harvey and Mabel Drouillard’s family. One of Harvey’s sons, Wilfred, owned Drouillard’s Fruit Stand on Huron Church Road at one time.

Harvey Drouillard and Aunt Eleanor (Boose) Drouillard

At the time, I had been emailing Judy Drouillard, exchanging stories and pictures. Judy's husband Bob is one of Wilfred’s sons. I asked them for some help with Colt's request. Bob and Judy contacted their Aunt Eleanor who confirmed Colt’s father is Harvey, Harvey’s father is Eugene and Eugene’s father is Harvey (and Mabel).

Now that we figured out Colt’s family, we expanded his branch on the website and I also put him in touch with Bob and Judy in Windsor and another relative, Larry in Florida. Larry is Bob’s cousin.

We all kept in contact with Colt through emails while he was in Iraq. Colt hoped that he could meet all of us when he returned. In October 2005, Colt’s tour of duty in Iraq was finished and he returned home to Georgia. In November Bob and Judy took a trip to Disneyworld and met Colt and his family on their return. Judy put together a photo album for Colt of all his family in Canada.

Brian and Colt

In May 2006, about a year after Colt first made contact with me through my website Colt met up with his dad, Harvey and they headed up to Windsor. I’m sure this trip will be a memorable one for all of us….Colt especially. He was re-united with his father after several years and he met family in Windsor that he didn’t know he had. Harvey (Colt’s dad) visited the old stomping ground and was re-united with his family and friends. Bob and Judy and their family connected with their cousin Harvey after about 15 years and met his son Colt for the first time.

I too had the pleasure of meeting everyone. Bob and Judy and their family, Harvey and Colt, and Aunt Eleanor. I brought along some pictures I had of Colt’s great great grandparents, Maxime Drouillard and Josephine (Girard) and several others.

Kim, Me, Bob and Mandy

I’m very proud of the website and something like this only makes it more rewarding.