Obituary of Alida Emilia Valette

VALETTE ~ Alida Emilia Valette passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Monday, August 10, 2015 at the age of 86 years. Alida will be sadly missed by: five children: Dan and Sharon, Maurice and Ferne, Allen, Linda and Stew, Diane and Dan and all their families; fifteen grandchildren: Jason, Kurt, Steven, Cody, Shane, Clay, Jesse, Randy, Shawn, Danielle, Jayna, Lesa, Bailey, Kalli and Tara; ten great grandchildren: Koltun, Madison, Mason, Riley, Jasper, Elly, Mia, Conner, Halstyn and Lincoln as well as numerous other relatives. Alida was predeceased by her husband, Camil; and son, Gerald. The Prayer Vigil was conducted from McCaw Funeral Chapel, Lloydminster, Alberta on Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 6:45 PM. The Mass of Christian Burial was conducted from St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Monday, August 17, 2015 at 1:45 PM with Father Arun Rodrigues officiating. Shawn MacDonald gave the eulogy. The music was accompanied by pianist, Melanie Pellerin and soloist, Lani Burry. The Honorary Pallbearers were granddaughters: Danielle, Jayna, Lesa, Bailey, Kalli and Tara; and great grandchildren: Koltun, Madison, Mason, Riley, Jasper, Elly, Mia, Conner and Halstyn. The Active Pallbearers were grandsons: Jason, Kurt, Steven, Cody, Shane, Clay, Jesse, Randy and Shawn. Interment was held in the Lloydminster City Cemetery, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Donations in Alida's memory may be made to the Pioneer Lodge Building Fund or to a Charity of the Donor's Choice. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Card of Thanks The family of Alida Valette would like to thank everyone for the love and support shown to us during the loss of our mother. A special thank you goes out to McCaw’s Funeral Service, St Anthony's Catholic Church, Pioneer Lodge and their wonderful staff, the very caring nurses and doctors at the Lloydminster Hospital, as well as the close friends and relatives who visited mom and comforted our family. Our mom will be missed forever, but we know that she will live on in our hearts and the hearts of all those who shared their grief with us during this difficult time. EULOGY Good afternoon, For all of you that are not aware, I am Shawn MacDonald, one of Alida's many grandchildren. First off, I would like to thank everyone here for attending and supporting our family today. I would also like to thank the rest of the family for giving the honor of eulogizing a truly fantastic women. Alida really loved and took pride in all of her 15 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, so much so that her family members found it appropriate to appoint one of us to summarize her life. Losing a loved one on is one of the hardest things that each of us will ever endure, and it desperately leaves us searching for a silver lining. Well I think that if we were able to talk to Grandma today she would inform us that she is no longer limited by her elderly figure, she no longer suffers from arthritis, she no longer struggles to climb stairs, or hoist herself into a vehicle, she no longer needs her good friend Leona to help her with tasks that used to be so simple. She is at peace now, and I hope we can all take solace in that. I can't help but think that she is still around and that she has probably been trying to get our attention somehow, but not for the reasons everyone might think. not to give us inspirational advice, and not to tell us things she wished she could have said before she passed. No none of that, Her kind nature leads me to believe that she would simply say have a seat I cant wait to hear about your day, but while you talk allow me to get the hot buns that I prepared for you. In truth, I was a little bit nervous to deliver this eulogy. Not because of the public speaking aspect of it, but because it's hardly fair to try and summarize a wonderful women's long life in 7 or 8 minutes. Although it's not an easy task I will try to do it justice. While I was writing this eulogy I heard a song that I feel will resonate with many people here. The artist says the following: take me to that old familiar place, take me to memories we won't erase, take me to all that we had, the good and the bad, I'll never forget you, I'll never let you go" If Grandma is somehow listening to this I want her to know that she gave us memories to cherish forever, and we will in fact never forget her nor let her go. When I was asked to speak about Grandma each and every thought that passed through my mind involved thoughts of kindness and selflessness. As many people may attest to, it's probably not uncommon for grandchildren to think of their grandma in this light. Because of this, I thought I better get some more opinions from her children, friends, and siblings. After all, I felt a grandson might be just a little bit bias. I was hoping to hear some funny stories about how she used to put her 6 kids in their place or how she used to put them over her knee. We all know that her sons, Dan, Morris, Allen, and Gerald probably deserved it at some point. to my disbelief, nothing! I'm being conditioned to believe that this women didn't have an angry bone in her body! After speaking to many people, I am pleasantly happy to report that my thoughts of her kindness have been confirmed, truly a beautiful thing isn't it? Every person i spoke to echoed the exact same sentiments about being a kind and selfless social butterfly. I had to think about that for a moment. What a concept. Alida was someone that truly, in every sense of the word dedicated her life to others. Even at the young age of 5, I was informed by Carmelle, one of her 11 siblings, that she constantly worried about looking after her younger brothers and sisters. Let's put that into perspective for a minute, at age five most of us were worried about missing our favorite cartoon. Alida was worried about making sure her siblings were prepared and taken care of, incredible. Many people including Alidas grandchildren attested to this as well. Every single time you stepped into Alidas house there were treats, chips, or her famous buns waiting for you. I think Jim Honhe is here, he might also agree to this. Dan, Alidas oldest son told me a story about Jim's after school requests for more and more............... and more of her famous buns. Not only did Alida look after her kids, but she was also forced to care for her husband camil when he was seriously injured. At that point she was forced to become even more independent than she previously was. I think it's quite evident that she did an incredible job instilling this trait in all of her wonderful children. As I mentioned, Almost every opinion about Alida related to kindness and selflessness, However there is one more thing that was apparently very important and dear to her heart. Her hair! From the day she was old enough to style her own hair to the day she recently entered the hospital, she wouldn't leave the house before confirming that she looked beautiful. Actually one of Alida's best friends, Rita Baert would probably attest to this. One day Rita, being the good friend she is called Alida and said I'm coming to get you. We are going to get you a job at the Dr. Cooks. In true Alida fashion, her response was I can't go, my hairs a mess. Alida got the job and she was employed for 20 years at the Dr. Cook, She did a great Job, but truth is, that definitely wasn't her passion. It was very evident that her passion was socializing, and maybe even more so hosting whoever walked through her door. She just loved to visit so much. In fact, if anyone in here has had less than a half hour visit with Alida, please let me know. I don't think it's ever happened! She genuinely wanted to know everything about the person that she was visiting with. The conversations were rarely about her, she was ultimately always thinking of others. What a beautiful trait to posses. She was able to see the positive in every person that she knew. In fact her largest dislike in her later years when she lived at the lodge was the amount of gossip. There were always a lot of memorable moments with Alida, but I think everyone in her family would agree that Christmas was the most memorable and funnest time of the year. Christmas always included an extravagant meal, a very large beautifully decorated tree with a plethora of gifts from Alida. This even continued into the later years when she really shouldn't have been wasting the little bit of energy she had on others, but that was her. She loved to make her family smile even if it required every last bit of energy. This obviously stretched further than on Christmas day, but she really treated every person the same no matter who it was. Since I can remember Grandma always spent the exact same amount of money, down too the last dime on each child, grandchild, and great grandchild. Christmas, actually let me rephrase that, every Vallete party consisted of at least two things, one being the drunk uncles..... two, Alida being the very last one at the party. It's quite comical when your 80 year old Grandma outlasted the grandkids. Even in her last few years 3 or 4 in the morning wasn't a problem for her. She never wanted to miss a smile, a hug, or a moment with the people that she loved the most. Over the last year or so Alida must have realized her time here with us was getting short. This became very evident to her sister Paulette. There was always a mutual love between the two , but it wasn't commonly communicated. Recently Paulette noticed that Grandma started to verbally communicate her love a lot more. A truly nice memory for you Paulette. Her daughter Linda also got to spend a memorable moment with her on one of her last days. When grandma was in the hospital she woke up suddenly one night and Linda approached her side. Grandma hadn't been very responsive at this point, but she did open her eyes and looked at Linda. Linda was able to communicate with Grandma how much the family loved her. With every bit of strength that Grandma had she tried to say the same back. On a more comical note, while Diane was at her bedside a few days before that Alida, out of nowhere looked at her and said you're so stubborn. Probably a comment based on the last few years when Diane became the person that was around Grandma the most and was the person making her take her pills and encourage her to move around. Diane replied in a kind tone so are you. grandma responded in a innocent voice, yeah maybe a little. Recently Alida made it quite clear that she was not ready to go, but after hearing many different sentiments, I don't believe she was scared of death, I believe she simply did not want to miss enjoying Kentucky fried chicken with her son Allen, country drives with Dan, receiving an orchid from her son Gerald every Mothers day, the weekly visits from Uncle Maurice, trips to aunty Carmels with Linda, and from taking care of her youngest child Diane in the early years, to taking orders in the later years. It wasn't the materialistic goods that impressed Alida, it was the stories, the Christmases, the reunions, just the time with the family and friends that she loved so very much. Alidas life was obviously not without diversity, but it never changed her character and what she stood for. In truth, we should probably all aspire to be that person one day. Alida passed peacefully with her kids at her bedside and although she is physically gone, that won't stop us from seeing her in the stars and cherishing the many memories that she has engraved us with. Grandma if your listening, We'll never forget how you changed each and every one of our lives for the better, and how you became a genuine friend to anyone that entered your life. We love you more than words can express, and we truly appreciate your kind loving soul. We will miss you so much, and we are truly honored to be blessed enough to call you a Sister, Mother, Grandma, Great Grandma, and more importantly a friend. Rest in peace Grandma. Thank you,