Stories

Durocher, Jeannine & Marcel #257 *

Our mother, Jeannine Thibodeau was born on August 20, 1931 in Beauceville, Québec.  Daughter of Anna Roy and Alphonse Thibodeau.

Our father, Marcel Durocher was born on March 4, 1929 in Cléricy, Québec.  Son of Lodowiska Lemay and Jules Durocher.

Mom and Dad met in 1948, where mom worked with her family cooking in a lumberjack camp.  Our grand-father, Jules Durocher, owned a lumber business.  Mom and Dad married on May 28, 1949 and had a son, Denis, born in Cléricy.

Word had it that there was an abundance of lumber in Northern Ontario; Jules and Lodo moved to North Bay.  Their adult children and their grand-children followed.  Jeannine and Marcel had five other children, Céline, Gilles, Éveline, Doris and Lina, all born in North Bay.

Our father worked for his father at what came to be known as “Durocher Planing Mill”.  The lumber that churned out of that business provided wood to build many houses here in North Bay back in those days.  Mom and Dad built a home not far from the mill and spent many years there raising their children on a hobby farm.  Our parents loved to expose us to the farm experience which delighted every one of us.  We had so many different animals over the years that I can’t even begin to list them all.  One of us had a pet skunk at one time and another, a pet monkey!

Our home was also the gathering place for many family gatherings.  Many a Saturday afternoon visit from an aunt and uncle would turn into a full out party in our rec room fully equipped with a piano, a pool table and lots of room to dance, while the children played hide and seek inside and outside till the wee small hours of the morning!

We miss you and think about you every day.  We pray that you are watching over us and lovingly see your family growing bigger and bigger.  It pains us to know that the new additions to our family will never know how big your hearts were, how good your cooking was, Mom, and how much joy you had creating a gift for someone from a piece of wood in your garage, Dad.

How we miss your laughter and your smiles!

Rest in peace Mom and Dad!  We love you more than you’ll ever know!

Your loving children

Denis (with you in heaven), Céline, Gilles, Éveline, Doris, Lina

________________________________________________________ Notre mère, Jeannine Thibodeau, est née le 20 août 1931 à Beauceville, Québec.  Elle était la fille d’Anna Roy et d’Alphonse Thibodeau.

Notre père, Marcel Durocher, est né le 4 mars 1929 à Cléricy, Québec.  Il était le fils de Lodowiska Lemay et de Jules Durocher.

Mom et Dad, comme on les appelait, ce sont rencontrés en 1948, où Mom travaillait avec sa famille à faire la cuisson dans un camp de bûcheron.  Notre grand-père, Jules Durocher, travaillait dans le bois.  Mom et Dad ont été mariés le 28 mai, 1949 et notre mère a donné naissance à leur fils, Denis, né à Cléricy.

Jules a appris qu’il y avait une abondance de bois dans le nord de l’Ontario, alors Jules et Lodo ont déménagés à North Bay.  Leurs enfants et petits-enfants ont suivies.  Jeannine et Marcel ont eu cinq autres enfants, Céline, Gilles, Éveline, Doris et Lina, tous nés à North Bay.

Jules a établi une compagnie qui s’appelait « Durocher Planing Mill » et notre père travaillait pour son père.  Plusieurs maison à North Bay, de cette époque, ont été construite avec du bois provenant du moulin de notre grand-père.  Mom et Dad ont battis une maison tout près du moulin à scie où ils ont passés plusieurs années à élever leurs enfants sur une petite fermette.  Nos parents adoraient nous faire vivre la vie de ferme qui nous a tous enchantés.  Nous avons eu tellement d’animaux différent que c’est difficile de tous les énumérés.  À un moment donné, un de nous avait une mouffette, et une autre un singe!

Notre maison à très souvent été la maison où se rassemblait la famille Durocher.  Certain samedi, une visite d’une tante et un oncle devenait une énorme fête dans notre sous-sol équipé d’un piano, une table de billard et de la place pour danser, tandis que les enfants jouaient à la cachette dehors jusqu’aux petites heures du matin!

Nous vous manquons and nous pensons à vous à toute les jours.  Nous prions le ciel que vous veillez sur nous, votre famille qui grandit toujours.  Nous avons du chagrin quand nous pensons que les nouveaux membres de notre famille ne connaîtrons jamais comment grand était vos cœur, comment c’était bon de manger chez grand-maman, et quelle joie on avait de recevoir un plat fait dans le garage de pépère.

Nous manquons votre rire et vos sourires!

Reposez en paix Mom et Dad!  Vous ne saurez jamais à quel point nous vous aimons!

Avec amour, vos enfants

Denis (au paradis avec vous), Céline, Gilles, Éveline, Doris, Lina

Bale, Dorothy #271 *

Dorothy (nee Charron) Bale

Honoured by Edward Bale (spouse), Lisa Fitzgerald (daughter), and Cody Fitzgerald (grandson).

Dorothy M. A. Charron became a resident of Temiscaming, Quebec on February 9, 1943.  She quickly demonstrated that she would readily accept challenges and failure was not acceptable.  Dorothy described this best when she told us about her first day of school.  She immediately knew that the teacher and her classmates were speaking French, a language that she did not understand.  Despite this, by midterm, she had earned the best grades in her class.

Academically, Dorothy was always the top student in grade school and high school in Temiscaming.  Upon graduation, St. Joseph’s School of Nursing benefited because it was the perfect place for a clever, funny and compassionate person.  In 1963, after graduating, Dorothy worked as a General Duty nurse in her alma mater for two years.  Marriage to Edward Bale resulted in a move to Fredericton while Ed finished his studies.  That year Dorothy worked in pediatrics.

Fellow classmates recently described Dorothy as “full of life”, “a treasure”, “vibrant”, and “could light up a room”.  How could this person not succeed in the helping profession?  For the next ten years, she was head nurse of the Pediatric Unit and the Emergency Unit in Maniwaki, Quebec.  She was not overly ambitious but she never had difficulty finding a job.  She was a good worker, well liked, and very enthusiastic.  Employers sought her out.  One such search occurred in an area where people lacked access to psychiatric assistance.  Dorothy was asked and she agreed to accept a two year post graduate study and upon completion, she worked in a much needed satellite community psychiatric unit.

Nine years later, the Bale family moved to Iroquois Falls.  Again Dorothy gladly accepted another challenge – four years of high school teaching.  Her psychiatric training coupled with her classroom work later made her the leading candidate for a new position – Mental Health Consultant – followed by Program Manager of a residential treatment facility for adolescents.

Changing career paths made this lady a very much appreciated employee.  Dorothy often joked about the large number of parties that were held in her honour when she left for a new position.  Meeting new people was a pleasant experience for her.  It was not unusual for her to make an effort to meet every person in the room before she left.

A new career path for Dorothy proved to be her final position in the “paid” work world.  She was recruited as a Program Supervisor for the Ministry of Community & Social Services.  This position she held for ten years before retiring.  In all, she worked full time for 37 years.  Looking back, she was very proud of her achievements and she often said that she enjoyed every position that she held.

Once retired, cycling, hiking, skiing, and skating became regular activities.  As a Heritage Gardener, Doronthy loved the opportunity to meet visitors and to work in the waterfront gardens.

Upon her passing, Cody described Dorothy as “a grandmother like no other person I have ever met.  Our strong bond could be felt in the many conversations we had and the moments we shared.  There was never a dull moment when she was around.  Her kindness, energy, and sense of humour made her special.”

Dart, Glenda #253 *

Honoured by her loving family.

Born October 29th, 1939 in Nakina, Ontario, to parents Marion and Heimo Dart, Glenda went on to graduate as a nurse in 1960 and then spent the next forty years employed in the maternity department at North Bay’s St. Joseph’s General Hospital.

Though she never had children of her own, she was a compassionate care-giver to a multitude of new mothers and their little arrivals over those many years of service. In her retirement years, Glenda enjoyed being with her family and travelling with friends. She was an active member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, Branch 23 North Bay; the North Bay Golden Age Club and volunteered at the North Bay Regional Health Centre until her passing on December 27th, 2013.