George’s obituary is the second one that appears on my blog today. Earlier, I posted the obit of my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair.
George and Julie were the younger children of Olivier Vanasse and his wife (and first cousin) Elisabeth Vanasse. George, the eldest son, was born on 13 October 1891. He and his siblings – Mary, William, Cecilia, Joseph, Corinne, David and Agnes – grew up on their parents’ farm on Ile des Allumettes, Pontiac County, Quebec.
In June 1920, George married (Marie) Louise Potvin in her hometown of Bourget, Russell County, Ontario. They and their seven children (three sons and four daughters) lived most of their lives in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.
George died on 22 March 1976 – forty years ago this Tuesday. His funeral was held two days later in St. Sebastian (Roman Catholic) church, with interment in Notre-Dame cemetery in Ottawa. [1]
I don’t believe I ever met my great-uncle George, but I had the opportunity to visit his eldest child Jeanne (Jean) at her home in the 1980s, while on vacation in Ottawa.
Source:
1. “Ontario, Canada, The Ottawa Journal (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1885-1980”, digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 2 July 2013), Georges Vanasse [sic] death notice; citing The Ottawa Journal, 23 March 1976, p. 36, col. 7; City of Ottawa Archive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.
Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.
My dear grandmother Julie died on Sunday 19 March 1967. [1]
My sister and I were only 6½ and 8½ years old, respectively. We were told of Mémère’s death the next morning, while getting ready for school. Marianne and I were in the small living room of our apartment and could see Dad a few feet away in the kitchen. He looked so sad standing by the counter.
Mémère Julie suffered from asthma and sometimes needed an oxygen tent at home. I don’t remember the days leading up to her death, and don’t know if she had been poorly before going to the hospital one last time.
I have only a vague memory of being at the funeral home. I think it was evening, and I was there with my parents. I watched people come and go in the sombre and dimly lit room.
I don’t remember the funeral, which took place at our parish church, half a block away from our home, three days later. It was at 9 a.m., according to the obituary, so Mom must have arranged for my sister and I to miss school that morning. It was a cold, snowy day and we needed to wear our winter coats, hats and mitts. I remember being at the cemetery, though, because I can still see myself and others standing in a small building for the committal service. (It was winter time in Timmins, so the interment was postponed until better weather.)
Forty-nine years have passed since that day, but I still miss my grandmother Julie and keep her close to me in my heart.
Source:
1. “Belair”, obituary, The Daily Press (Timmins, Ontario), 21 March 1967, p. 9, col. 5.
Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.
Ann (also known as Annie) was a younger daughter of Joseph and Martha (Bloski) Prince, a Polish couple. She was born in 1916 in Barry’s Bay, Renfrew County, Ontario. When she was twenty years old, Ann married Joseph Philippe, a nephew of my grandfather Fred Belair.
Joe and Ann had six children – one son and five daughters.
I don’t recall if I ever met Ann, but I visited her daughter Joan at her home in Timmins on one or two occasions to talk about our Belair relatives. After my family and I moved to British Columbia, I corresponded with Joan’s sister and brother.
Ann died on 13 March 1976; her husband Joe passed away two years later.
Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.
