JEANNE GOBEIL (née Roussel)
1917 – 2015
Jeanne Gobeil passed away suddenly at Jubilee Nursing Home in Kinistino, SK, on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at the age of 97 years. Jeanne was born in Paddockwood on December 2, 1917. She attended Elk Range and Begin Schools, and afterwards worked on her father’s farm handling horses, working the fields, doing the farm chores and milking, as well as indoor work until she married Ernest Gobeil in 1939. They then moved to their own farm north west of Albertville. Jeanne often worked along with her husband, clearing land, picking roots and stones, sawing wood, seeding, stoking, and helping with building the cupboards to finish their new house. She eventually gave birth to six girls and six boys. She worked late into the night sewing clothes for the entire family, harvested large gardens, baked 12 loaves of white bread weekly and an extra batch of cinnamon buns for the weekend, along with pies and cakes and cookies. She had a talent to create large delicious meals with next to nothing on hand, and would serve up a feast for those who often dropped by unexpectedly. She also held many large family holiday meals during the festive season and on special occasions when relatives from afar came to visit. Amongst the piles of washing and ironing she still found time to attend church once a week, to attend les Dames the Saint Anne and later the CWL, which lasted until she received the fifty year pin. She nursed many through sickness, tried to be an exemplary example for her children, and bore the loss of two sons in their first year of life. After 45 years on the farm they retired to the village of Albertville, where she thoroughly enjoyed those retirement years, filling her time decorating many fancy cakes, growing vegetable and flower gardens, enjoying the company of retired friends, playing cards and bingo, working with catechism children, hosting coffee parties, visiting with many around her table, keeping a caring eye on her elderly mother across the road, travelling to Europe and the US and, of course, finding much joy in her grandchildren, always seeing that they had plenty of fun with movies, dress-up, games… and the candy dish that was always on the table. After Ernest passed, Jeanne continued with her flowers and gardens until she had to move to Prince Albert, recovering at her daughter’s place until she was once again able to look after her plants. She also made hundreds of rosaries, liked reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and being awed by her great-grand-kidlets that were springing up all over the place. In later years, Jeanne lived in BBB Care Home. It was there that she fell deeply in love with the home’s four-legged joy maker, Stella, who never missed catching any of the treats Jeanne tossed into the air for her. A few weeks ago, Jeanne moved into the nursing home system, landing in Kinistino. She was already enjoying the kind people around her. Even with the dementia that had progressively impaired her during the past five years, she was still just last week doing crossword puzzles, reading, and reminiscing with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye as she retold the antics of that joy maker, Stella. Jeanne is survived by her remaining children, Claudette (Murielle) Gobeil, Guy (Irene) Gobeil, Alain (Theresa) Gobeil, Yvonne (Bruce) White, Louise Jenner, Angeline (Martin) Huvenaars and Thérèse Deppeler her daughters-in-law,and Marie Gobeil-Hunt, Anne Sharyk twenty three grandchildren and forty seven great-grandchildren, her sisters, Genevieve Dirks, Laurentie Gobeil, Thérèse Gignac, Sr. Germain of the Order of the Grey Nuns and Jeannette Renaud, Irene Gobeil and Lena Roussel as well as numerous other relatives and friends. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Ernest, who passed in 1996, her four sons, Marcel, Clement, Arthur and Raymond, her daughter Jeannine, her parents, Léonie and Joseph Roussel, and six siblings. Much joy came to her from having known each and every one of you. She would wish blessings on each one of you. A prayer service will be held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 23, 2015, at River Park Memorial Chapel, 301 River Street West, Prince Albert, SK, and a funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, October 24, 2015, at 10:00 a.m., at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Albertville, SK. Interment to follow at the Albertville Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of RIVER PARK MEMORIAL CHAPEL, Prince Albert, 306 764-2727, Colette Kadziolka, Funeral Director.