Our Little Mother has left us for a better world, and with you, dear friends and relatives, we wish to celebrate her long and generous life.

Mom was a profoundly religious person, exhorting us to offer all of our pains to God as she herself did.  She taught us to forgive and keep no grudges.  Family prayer was recited each evening, and one of her great joys was to have visited Lourdes, France and seeing the Pope in Rome.

Mom loved music and played the piano well.  We remember with relish the singsongs around the piano, and even the horses would come near the open window to enjoy the melodies she practiced and played.

There was a mischievous side to her; she loved to laugh and play harmless tricks.  She was proud of her first motorcycle ride with her grandson, Gaëtan, at the age of 65 and of her experience in Egypt, riding a camel at age 67.

She enjoyed travelling, visiting France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Hawaii, and Mexico where she was surprised to have slept through a mild earthquake.  She particularly enjoyed her wild safari in Kenya.

She was an only-child and therefore, was happy to be the mother of eight children.  Transplanted on a farm by marriage, she worked hard baking her own bread for her large family, cultivating a huge garden, canning and preserving its products for the winter, making piles of pastries, especially for the festive season, and preparing food for large gatherings, where sometimes she would serve up to 3 shifts of ten revellers.

She had a happy disposition, and while she busily attended to all these tasks, she could be heard humming away in her own unique manner.

She had a passion for playing cards.  She also loved to play bingo, enjoyed a few horse races and the odd dance and drink at the club.  She tried her hand at oil painting and enjoyed making crafts and visiting with many friends and acquaintances.  So often we would see her doodling, drawing wild roses in minute detail.

She even tried her hand at writing, penning in an elegant, informative style the biography of her uncle, Monseigneur Cloutier, who was her guardian when she lost her father at the age of four.  She therefore spent all her childhood as a boarder in a convent, which later made her appreciate family life so deeply.

She was a dedicated teacher, returning to the profession after her children were grown up.  She touched many young lives, and occasionally I meet some of her former students who still remember her fondly, recalling her patient, caring style and being thankful that she had helped them overcome learning difficulties.

Mom was generous of heart and enjoyed life fully.  She was hardly five feet tall but her shoes are hard to fill.  Adieu Little Mother.  In heaven you will find your well-deserved rest.  We shall not forget you and we will preserve in our hearts a deep love for you.  Watch over us.  Someday we will all be reunited.  

Adieu.

Eulogy for Mom
Thursday evening, November 17, 2000

To celebrate the life of a Mother is an immense task that would take hours to do adequately but this evening we’ll share a few moments together.

Reflecting on Mom’s life, the first thing that came to my mind was the overall beauty that her 94 years added to our world.  In a certain way these roses are an expressions of some aspects of her life.

1. Mom, my 1st memory of you is of the beauty of your caring for the elderly. You opened our home to Grandpa Desrosiers in the summertime and to Mémère Ritchot in the winter time.

2. This rose symbolizes the beauty of your smile and your unique humming indicating inner peace and tranquility of heart. 

3. This rose stands for the beauty of your acceptance  of the many hardships and trials you faced and worked out during our many years on the farm. 

4. This rose speaks of  the beauty of your closeness to nature.  You spent many hours in the garden and just loved it as a sanctuary. 

5. This rose represents the beauty of your missionary spirit which was quite evident when, while working in the garden you always asked me “And who are you weeding this row for?” 

6. This rose makes me think of  the beauty of your numerous relationships and long-term friendships. You knew so many people and when asked how you came to know them you would say: “It’s a lady I met in the hospital.” 

7. This rose expresses  the beauty of your consistency in prayer.  Family evening prayer was a must and in the morning we were awakened by your voice praising God in morning prayer. 

8. This one expresses the beauty of your musical talent.  After church on Sunday you would often play the piano while we did the dishes. (great way to get out of it, right?) Then we would gather around and sing songs from “Les cahiers de la bonne chanson” 

9. This rose is a symbol of the beauty of your profound faith  which permeated your whole life. 

10. This rose stands for the beauty of your ease in forgiveness  whether small as forgiving me for lying to you about dropping and breaking your watch, or on a larger scale never keeping a grudge. 

11. This rose stands for  the beauty of your love of teaching.  When you taught me in Grades 7 & 8 in our small rural school, I thought I might get away with doing as little as possible but I was quite mistaken. That didn’t work! You always expected and demanded nothing but the best from all your students. 

12. And this one, Mom, represents the beauty of your patience and your consistency during these last years when physical activity was greatly curtailed and communication very difficult.

And so, through symbolism  this dozen roses encompasses to a certain extent the beauty of your life. We thank you Mom, for all you’ve done and all you’ve been.  You have reflected the beauty of God in your life and now that you have seen Him in His glory, help us to continue to reflect His beauty to others as you have done so well. 

We love you, Mom!

Hélène