Obituary of Joseph Arcand

Joseph Gilbert passed away with his wife by his side, Saturday, September 13, 2008 at the age of 61 years in Regina, SK. Gil was predeceased by his father Damase Arcand (June 3, 1972); brother Aurele Arcand (July 13, 1991); sister Claudette Ward (May 3, 2001); stepfather Pete Day (June 3, 2003). He is survived by his loving wife & friend Lena; his mother Marie-Ange; sisters Raymonde, Rachelle (Wayne); brothers Archie (Gerry), Al (Lee), Marcel (Carol), and Aime (Annette); sister-in-law Jeanette Arcand; brother-in-law Raymond Ward; daughters Renee (Nathan), Rachelle (Jason), Jaime, Jolene (Brent); step-daughters Jodie (Trevor) and Sonya; grandchildren Dayna, Davin, Jordyn, Daxon, Arianna, Carter, Brandon and Courtney and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Eulogy Gilbert Arcand For those of you who may not know me, I am Gilbert's brother and I was asked by Lena, his spouse, to prepare and present the eulogy for Gilbert whom we all knew as Gil. I gladly accepted. Since I had limited contact with Gilbert in the last few years, I contacted a number of people for information. The people I contacted were family members to help in sharing the good things that Gilbert brought to our lives which I want to share with you today. Gil, was not one to be speak ill of others. I will touch on the highlights of Gil's life and the things he cherished the most. Gil was born on October 2, 1946 in North Battleford to Damase Arcand and Marie Gerard. His dad predeceased him in 1972 but his mother is still with us and will be 97 in a just over a week. Gil had many interesting experiences when growing up on the farm and I will share one with you. Being good Catholics we said prayers every night. One night during prayers, Gil was not very attentive and was distracted by a little red fire truck under one of the beds. Low and behold he found what he thought was gum so he put it in his mouth and started chewing it. It was not gum but a worm! Gil was raised on the farm in Jackfish and did the usual chores that were common on the farm in those days. Gil left the farm but farming remained in his blood and Gil always had a great desire to farm. Gil left the farm and moved to Edmonton and worked as journeyman mechanic. Mom relates that Gil would frequently return to Jackfish to visit and on one particular week-end Gil came home with a cousin and told her they got stopped for speeding. Mom asked him if they were given a ticket, he said yes. Mom said: it is nice of you to pay the police salary, Gilbert was amused but I gather his cousin was not. Mom also relates that on another weekend when Gilbert came home from Edmonton he was sitting at the table and observing mom do some cleaning in the house. Gil finally said, mom why don't you quit washing the walls and come and play cards with me. Mom found that amusing and stopped her work and played cards with him. These were some cherished moments for mom with Gil . Gil was not a big city person and soon moved to Bonnyville where he was employed as a mechanic for Tercier Motors. On his way to Bonnyville with his family, the car broke down, just like a good mechanic's car. He phoned me and asked that I bring him a fuel pump, which I did. So there he was, replacing his fuel pump on the side of the highway. Before we knew it he had it fixed and we were all on our way. He worked for Tercier Motors for a number of years, but the farmer in him made him move back to Edam where he farmed for 14 years. Farming was not as profitable as he had hoped for, but he enjoyed his stay and especially enjoyed working with his daughters. He quit farming and managed the Edam Hotel for a while then returned to Bonnyville where he delivered fuel for a bulk company. Last year he retired and moved to Regina. Upon retirement, Gil's health began to seriously deteriorate and he made a few trips to the hospital in very poor health. He rallied twice but could not rally a third time while receiving care from his spouse Lena. On Saturday, September 13, Gil had a setback and died on his way to the hospital. I wish to note that Gil died on his daughter Jolene and Brent's wedding day. Gil was unable to attend the wedding however we all believed that Gil really wanted to be at the wedding and he was there. Many at the wedding observed a white butterfly fly over Jolene and Brent during the wedding ceremony in the park. We all enjoyed ourselves as Gil would have wanted and Jolene and Brent had a wonderful day. Gil was an avid sportsman and good athlete. As Gil grew up he was very interested in playing sports, especially hockey and fastball. He used to enjoy going on the ponds in the winter and enjoy skating for hours. He became proficient in both sports but excelled as a fast ball pitcher. I had the opportunity of catching for him in a few ball games and he had one of the best knuckle ball that I have ever seen. He won many close games. He was an avid fan of the Montreal Canadiens and never lost his love for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He never missed watching their games when they were televised. He also loved the outdoors and had many a camping and fishing trips with his family and with Lena. Gil was never a person to mingle in crowds but he was able to make many friends, many good friends. He enjoyed a good joke, especially the salty ones, and had a very hearty laugh. He loved immediate family get togethers and organized many family horseshoe tournaments when residing on the farm. In August of this year Lena and Gil took a long trip to the United States going all the way to Nashville. Gil really enjoyed this trip. Gil was very fond of his four girls, Renee, Rachelle, Jamie and Jolene and was proud of the success they achieved in their employment and the husbands Renee, Rachelle and Jolene chose. He enjoyed visiting with his step-daughters Jodie and Sonya and was not opposed to teasing them. His 4 grandchildren and 8 step grand-children meant every thing to him and wished he could have spent more time with them. Conclusion: Gil never forgot his religious roots and was always a strong believer. Sister Raymonde tells me that that Gil once made a comment about his admiration of nature. He was traveling and admiring a mare with her young foal, there were deer around, the foliage and trees were at their greenest (probably spring time) and he said God sure made a beautiful world. I am sure that Gil is in such a world today with his dad Damase, his step father Pete, his older brother Aurele and his younger sister Claudette. Gil is with his Creator, free of emotional and physical pain and he is happy. The Creator is watching over him and Gil is there looking upon us and ready to help us. Gil we will all miss you very much especially by those who were very close to you. Gil thank you for having been with us in this world and take care. Rest in peace.