Obituary of Mary Fortin

FORTIN: Mary Alexandra Fortin formerly of Tulliby Lake, Alberta passed away in the Islay Health Centre, Islay, Alberta on Thursday, February 22, 2007 at the age of 85 years. Mary is survived by: one son Adrien Fortin and his wife Liz of Edmonton; one daughter Sharon Earl of Kitscoty; five grandchildren Michael, Mallory (Brenda) and Steven Fortin, Tracey (Shane) Wolfe, Ryan (Melissa) Earl; five great-grandchildren Mackenzie & Gage Wolfe, Shaylene, Abigail & J.D. Earl; one sister Doris and her husband Donnie Sidener of Marwayne, one brother Bob Connochie and wife Betty of Kelowna; sister-in-law Edith Connochie as well as numerous other relatives. Mary was predeceased by her loving husband Arthur; her son-in-law Joe Earl, her parents Bob & Helen Connochie, brother’s Donald, Dick and Ross and sister Alice Connochie. Funeral service for Mary was conducted from the Tulliby Lake Community Hall on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 11:00 am with Father Ron Dechant officiating. Eulogy was given by her granddaughter Tracey Earl-Wolfe. Her grandson Mallory Fortin read a tribute to his grandmother, as well as tributes from her daughter-in-law Liz and niece Sandra Kitteringham. Active pallbearers were Malcom Drever, Duane Young, Lionel Benson, Ken Sidener, Dan Connochie and Ryan Belshiem. Interment followed in the Onion Lake Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Mary Fortin’s Eulogy As Mary’s only Granddaughter it is my honor and privilege to give her Eulogy. Before I begin I would like to thank Uncle Adrien, Auntie Liz, Mom and Uncle Bob for helping me with the details. Please bear with me if I have to pause. I’ve typed this using a really large font so that I can see, and read it through my tears if I need to. Mary was predeceased by: Her parents Bob and Helen Connochie Her Brothers Donald, Dick, and Ross, Her sister Alice Connochie Her son-in-law Joe Earl and her husband Arthur Fortin. Mary is survived by: Her sister Doris and Donnie Sidener, Her brother Bob and Betty Connochie Her sister-in-law Edith, her sister-in-law Beth Connochie (if present), Her son Adrien and Liz Fortin, Her daughter Sharon Earl Her grandchildren, Michael Fortin Mallory Fortin and Brenda Rose Steven Fortin, Tracey and Shane Wolfe, Ryan and Melissa Earl Her Great Grandchildren: Shaylene, Abigail, and J.D. Earl Mackenzie and Gage Wolfe, as well as numerous other relatives.Mary Alexandra Fortin was born April 22, 1921 in Turtleford, SK to Bob and Helen Connochie. She was the oldest of 7 children. Grandma started school in Fairholm. It was in 1934 that Bob and Helen moved their family from Fairholm to Tulliby Lake. They traveled in a covered wagon. Uncle Bob and Aunt Doris rode in the wagon, while Grandma and Uncle Dick herded the cattle. The trip took several days. Uncle Bob says that Grandma and Uncle Dick missed the sound of the train when they moved to Tulliby Lake. When they lived in Fairholm they could hear the train whistle, but in Tulliby Lake there was nothing but silence. Grandma never went far from home. Her first jobs were housekeeping and cooking for the neighbors. Uncle Bob says when she got homesick she would ask them to take her home or just start walking. Her last job before she married was working at the Marwayne Hotel as a housekeeper. Mary married Arthur Fortin Jr. on January 1, 1945 at the Holy Rosary church in Onion Lake. They started their married life residing on the farm in the Greenvale district. Their love of dancing and cards started in the early days of their marriage. In July of 1946 their son Adrien was born. Sharon followed in October of 1954. It was in 1959, in time for Sharon to start grade 1, that Mary and Arthur moved to Tulliby Lake. It was at this same time that Grandma and Grandpa started in the fuel business with Texaco. They continued in the Texaco fuel business for more than 25 years. Overtime they expanded their fuel business to include groceries and a garage. It is because of their store that my brother and I gave them their nickname. When we were children we referred to them as Grandma and Grandpa Chocolate bars, because we could go into the store and get something whenever we wanted. During the afternoon Grandma enjoyed watching her soap operas. Grandpa and Adrien knew this and would purposefully come in for coffee breaks during this time because it was before they went on their bus route. This meant that Grandma would have to go out and serve the customers while they finished their coffee. Grandma found this very frustrating and it is said that she’d respond by saying “Oh Shit!” I don’t remember this but Mom and Uncle Adrien say it’s true. Grandma was an active member of the Merry Makers club. This involved running the Lea Park Cattle Sale concession and providing lunches for various events at the North Park Hall. She enjoyed this so much that she was the secretary of the club for a few years. Besides being an active member of her community, Grandma was known for her many rituals. Monday was always wash day, while Tuesday was ironing. Until Grandma moved, she washed her clothes in an old style wringer washing machine. I sent all my delicates for her to wash because of this. Grandma never had a dryer. All of her laundry was hung out on the line behind her house. In the summer I thought this was great because everything smelled so fresh, but I didn’t think it was that great in the winter because everything would come back in frozen. She would unthaw it in the house and iron it on Tuesday. Grandma ironed everything except her sheets. When we went to town she would comment about how no one irons anymore. Grandma used spray starch when she ironed to ensure that everything had a nice crease. When Mom lived with Grandma while her house was being built Grandma even ironed her sweatpants. You should have seen their crisp crease. Besides being a ritual, Grandma’s tea was legendary. She had it 5 times a day. It was made with actual tea leaves not bags. It looked almost black. It was strong enough to make her visitors lace it with a large dose of sugar. When Grandma drank her tea it had to be in a TEA CUP, which is probably why she had such a large collection. It was right around Mother’s Day every year that Grandma would partake in her flower ritual. Mom would take her to Castle Garden Greenhouses where Grandma would spend hundreds of dollars on flowers, which she used to brighten up her yard. Grandma and Grandpa also managed to turn Saturday’s into a ritual too. Customers knew that they had to get gas or groceries before they went to town or they would be out of luck. Saturdays with Grandma were a ritual in itself. There was her standing hair appointment for a set and sometimes a color. She was always telling Mom that she needed to dye her hair to cover the grey. It was when Mom turned 50 that she finally followed Grandmas advice. Saturday lunch with Grandma was always downtown at the old Co-Op cafeteria, where it seemed like she knew everyone who was there. Afternoon tea was at the Zellers cafe. Grandma loved the holidays. It didn’t matter if it was a birthday or Christmas. She never forgot to send a card for a birthday always sending it so it arrived on time. Neighbors and friends were always invited over for her birthday. For many years she believed she shared her birthday with Grandpa. It wasn’t until Grandpa’s 65th birthday when he applied for his pension that they found out that it wasn’t his actual birthday. At Christmas she would decorate every inch of her house. She had decorations going every which way, hanging all over her ceiling. Meals during the holidays meant everyone at the table had their own special cup with their birth month on it. In her retirement, Grandma enjoyed many things. She liked going to Bingo’s with Grandpa. She always complained that she never won, especially compared to Grandpa. Grandma also liked to mow her grass, the entire three lots, by hand, with a push mower. She continued to mow like this until she was 83, just before she moved into the Pioneer Lodge. It was time to quit for the day when the mower ran out of gas. When Grandma went to the doctor because she was limping, the doctor couldn’t believe that she used to mow all that grass with a push mower. He said he didn’t think he could do that at his current age let alone at Grandma’s age. Before moving into the lodge, Grandma went to a Jamboree in Heinsburg with Uncle Adrien, Auntie Liz, and Jessie. Adrien was tired and ready to go home at 10 pm but Grandma wasn’t ready yet. Auntie Liz says it was 1 am before she was able to convince Grandma and Jessie that it was time to go home. Grandma kept dancing at the Pioneer Lodge until she began to limp. Grandma was considered a hot commodity during the lodges dance sessions, besides knowing all the dances she was an excellent dancer and had the trophies to prove it. Many times she would tell us about going to dances near and far in all sorts of weather, to get home at dawn and start the day without any sleep. If you wanted to learn how to dance, Grandma was more than willing to teach you. My brother Ryan can attest to it. He wanted to learn how to square dance and it was Grandma who was his partner and taught him how. Besides dancing, Grandma’s other great love was cards. Auntie Liz remembers that it took five years of Easters and Thanksgivings before her and Grandma beat uncle Adrien and Grandpa at 10 of diamonds. Another time, Grandma and Mom were playing whist against Ryan and Grandpa. Ryan and Grandpa beat Mom and Grandma so badly that Grandma became frustrated and said “I quit, I quit, Arthur let’s go home!” and they promptly left. Grandma was always ready to play cards with us grandkids. In fact, the dishes could never be washed and table could never be cleaned off fast enough for us to be able to play cards. Grandma was always ready to play Rummy with us. It didn’t take us grandkids long to figure out that you wanted to sit after it was Grandma’s turn, because she ALWAYS laid down her 3 of kind as soon as she had it. It’s amazing how you think you can know someone but you find out that you really don’t. That’s what it was like when we prepared for Grandma’s sale. We knew Grandma liked bright colors, which is why she painted the rooms in her house different colors with shiny enamel paint, using a 2” brush. It wasn’t until her sale that we realized exactly how much she liked to paint. It was then that we realized she varnished EVERYTHING! By everything I mean her antiques, her coppercraft, and even her paintings. Grandma always had munchies around. What we grandchildren will remember is the peanut machine, and getting a handful every time we walked by. Grandma’s Great Granddaughters will always remember her for her peanuts too. Shaylene and Abigail referred to her as Grandma Peanuts, while Mackenzie said “This is the Grandma with the peanuts” when we went to see her on her last day. For reasons I can’t fathom Grandma never learned to drive. According to Uncle Bob she would drive a team of horses. Uncle Bob figures it’s because Grandpa had a car and was willing to take Grandma wherever she wanted to that she never learned to drive. Because Grandma didn’t drive she couldn’t have lived on her own for so long without good friends to help her out. June and Helen were there to take her on outings or to town if her family wasn’t able to. Her niece Sandra was there to visit her at the Pioneer Lodge, in Edmonton during her radiation treatments, and during her time in Islay. During Grandma’s time in Islay she was known for her smile and the many miles she put on her wheelchair traveling the halls. I couldn’t find a way to draw this to a close. So instead I tried to write using prose. It’s not as good as one of Ryan’s, but here it goes Now that you’re in heaven Enjoy your time there The pain has gone away To brighten up your day You’re back with your favorite dance partner So dance the night away. Donations in loving memory of Mary may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or to a Charity of the Donor's Choice. CARD OF THANKS The family of the late Mary Fortin would like to thank the staff of the Islay Health Care Center for the care given to Mary. Thanks to all our family and friends who sent cards, food, flowers and monetary donations to charities in memory of Mary. Thanks to Father Ron and Mother Cynthia for their kind words at the service and Barb Brind for playing the music. Thanks to the Tullliby Lake Community members for the lovely lunch. Sincere thanks to McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., Dale and staff for your kindness and sympathy. Adrien, Liz Fortin & Family Sharon Earl & Family