Murdered Kincaid man remembered by family for his kindness

In the days following his death, Marie Moldovan wants people to remember her husband Claude Landry for his kindness and the way he strove to help others who were struggling because he understood where they were coming from.

Landry, 48, from Kincaid, Sask., was last seen in nearby Gravelbourg and was reported missing on July 12. RCMP considered his disappearance to be suspicious.

On Monday, Gravelbourg RCMP announced a 74-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in Landry’s death.

Speaking to 980 CJME by phone, Landry’s common-law wife remembered the man she has loved for 13 years. Moldovan said she was incredibly proud of him because he dealt with many struggles in his life, living with undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from service in the military which she believes led him down a dark path into crime before he turned his life around.

“He worked through everything and he became somebody that I’m proud of because it’s extremely hard to do that, it’s extremely hard to change your whole life around,” she said.

Despite all of his struggles, Moldovan said Landry felt lucky for the support he did eventually get and that’s what inspired him to try to help others.

“He just felt that he didn’t want other people to experience the turmoil that you experience when you are struggling,” Moldovan said, noting that he tried to show people kindness without expecting anything in return.

She recalled one time when he stopped to help an older gentleman who had a flat tire on the side of the road.

Another time, she said Landry was out walking when he came across a young couple surrounded by their possessions on the street because they had been evicted. Both Landry and Moldovan knew what it was like to be homeless, so he brought them home, moving their daughter in to share their own room, they offered the couple the second bedroom in their small apartment until they could find another place to stay.

“He basically had gone through most of his struggles alone and he knows what it was like to feel alone and abandoned and sometimes what it feels like when you’re at the bottom and it’s like there’s no hope in the world,” Moldovan said. “So he always tried to offer people kindness to show that, ‘Yes, there is hope. And just hang on and ride the waves and everything will be okay.’”

Speaking through tears as she described how his family will miss him, and how she can’t comprehend why anyone would take a life. She wants people to understand that Landry was an amazing person, because not many people knew.

The last time Moldovan saw Landry alive she said he was happy and excited, looking forward to a trip to a family reunion to bring together his eight kids including stepchildren and introduce them to his grandparents.