- British Columbia, Canada, Marriage Index, 1872-1935 -
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FREDERICK BURTON LEMAITRE
Fred was born to parents Robert and Bertha LeMaitre in Edmonton, Alberta, on January 21, 1921, the third of five children. Growing up during the Great Depression years, he quit school after grade 8 to help support his family. He became a jack-of-all trades and master of all. Fred held various jobs, learning many skills at lumber yards and hardware stores, where he became an accomplished carpenter and cabinet maker. His passion was working with wood and building things, and was very particular. When the kids were small, their camping days changed forever ….. Fred decided to build his own tent trailer – it was a wooden box, mustard yellow, with an old canvas tent attached to it. This gave all the other campers a giggle when they drove in …. Goodbye camping. Fred also worked at a photo store where he learned to develop pictures; an interest he kept all through his life. He loved photography and always had a darkroom in his house so he could develop his own pictures. When he turned 80, he bought his first computer and got into digital photography. He was amazed to be developing pictures without chemicals.
Fred was a veteran of World War II, serving with the No. 86 Royal Canadian Engineers. He had joined the army at the tender age of seventeen and one of his missions was in Normandy. When the war ended, he married Nina McCoy on December 6, 1947 in Edmonton. They raised a family of three children: David born in 1949; Ron came along in 1952; followed by Lois in 1956. Fred was a loving father who would do anything for his family.
Fred was working as a bar steward at the officers mess at the Namao Airport when his family moved to Dawson Creek in 1962. He helped to open a second Sandy’s Shoe Store with his brother-in-law, Sandy Thompson. When the stores were sold, Fred was hired on at Finning Tractor as a maintenance man, working there until retiring at age sixty-five.
Fred and Nina started attending First Baptist Church in 1962 soon after they arrived in Dawson Creek from Edmonton. Always the more outgoing of the two, Nina became a member in 1963. Although he didn’t become a member until years later, Fred was truly committed to the church in practical ways. He utilized his carpentry skills to make the crown moldings for the hall, built the kitchen cabinets, and built the two rooms off the back hall during renovations of the 1980’s. At any time if a door needed repair, a furnace fan needed adjusting, Fred, in his quiet, unassuming ways, kept things running.
After retirement Fred and Nina continued a love of traveling, going across Canada, north to Alaska twice, the USA, Scotland, and to England to revisit relatives he’d met during the war. They were also avid golfers and at age seventy-five, Fred got a HOLE IN ONE ……They joined Vandal Watch and received an honorary plaque for over two hundred patrols. Fred and Nina were a very active and social couple who loved life.
When Nina became ill, Fred, being a loving and devoted husband, decided to have a house built near Rotary Manor where she was being cared for. However, Nina passed away in 2005 before the house was built. He carried on with his plans, moving into the new house a few years later. He mowed his own grass, did yard work, household chores, and shoveled snow in the winter. Two years ago, he built and painted the backyard fence mostly by himself.
In his spare time, Fred loved to work on jigsaw puzzles – the more challenging, the better. He became an avid e-mailer with a large and active network of friends and relatives. Fred loved to play games, especially Scrabble on line, often playing several matches at the same time. His e-mails were always interesting and entertaining, and he was able to keep up with the latest news of his contacts.
Fred went to Robin’s Donuts or Tim Horton’s every day to socialize with family and friends. He often laughed about winning free coffee for many years from a friend of his (a bank manager) by flipping a coin and saying: “Heads I win; tails you lose….”
Fred was such an honest, down to earth man, very straight forward and independent. He was witty and loved telling jokes and making puns. His quirky, dry sense of humor will be missed. Fred was a real family man, well respected and loved.
Fred loved and missed his wife Nina, dearly. He was on his way to visit her grave in Edmonton when God called him home. Rest in Peace.
Wayne Leonard Jenkins
1987 ~ 2011
Wayne Jenkins passed away July 16, 2011 in Vernon, British Columbia at age 24 years of age. He was born May 13, 1987 in Fort Nelson, British Columbia. A Memorial service was held for Wayne on Thursday, July 28, 2011 in the Fort Nelson high school gym.
Officiated by Peggy Bergeron
Eulogy by Jennifer
Wayne will be sadly missed by his parents Alan and Gaile Jenkins, his sisters Jennifer (Aaron), Alison (Jay) and his brother Kenneth (Tylane) .
Wayne had three uncles Dale (Lorraine) Jenkins, Dean (Karen) Jenkins, Darryl (Gale) Lewis.
He was predeceased by his Grandparents Kenneth and Doreen Jenkins, Lenard and Barbara Southwick and Josephine Page.
An honorary brother, Tyler Basset and sister, Lori Clark, cousins and many loving friends and extended family.
With his magnetic and charismatic personality Wayne loved to entertain people and was known to have a great sense of humor and a contagious laugh.
Wayne played minor hockey at a young age, he later found a passion for refereeing and coaching the sport. Along with hockey Wayne enjoyed many other outdoor activities. He also enjoyed breeding pit bulls and taking part in dog pull competitions and shows.
Glenda Harcourt
1964 ~ 2011
Glenda passed away in Ashcroft, British Columbia on Sunday, July 24, 2011 at 47 years of age.
She was born on August 9, 1964 in Kelvington, Saskatchewan.
A Memorial service was held on Friday, July 29, 2011 at South Peace United Church, Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Officiated by Reverend Alice Hanson.
Eulogy by Jim Chute
Organist: Merrill Flewelling.
Glenda was a beloved wife to Mike Readman, and mother to David and Mark Readman.
She was the daughter of Wilf and Betty Harcourt and sister to Dean (Desi) Harcourt, Jeff Harcourt and Tracy Harcourt.
Aunt to Jordyn and Carson Harcourt, Connor and Kiefer Readman, Travis, Shawn, and Naomi McGuirk.
Dorothy Ann Bassett
1920 ~ 2011
Dorothy passed away at home in Arras, British Columbia on Saturday, July 23, 2011, at 91 years of age.
She was born on February 7, 1920 in Choteau, Montana, United States.
A Funeral Service was held on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at the Bergeron Funeral Chapel, Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Officiated by Brent Smith
Eulogy by Eileen Bassett
A private family interment followed in the Brookside Cemetery, Dawson Creek.
Dorothy was a loving wife to the late Charlie Bassett and the late Edward Bassett.
Mother to six children, Dale (Pat) Bassett, Doreen (Harold) McQueen, Ken (Sharon) Bassett, Rick (Eileen) Bassett, Penny (Tim) Shoemaker, and Jan Bassett.
Grandmother to 13 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. Sister to Norma Landiak and Virginia Moe.
Willa Maxine Fullerton (Bassett)
1931 – 2011
Willa Maxine Fullerton (Nee Bassett) was born on February 13th, 1931 in Lloydminster Saskatchewan. She was the daughter of Howard and Margaret Bassett. They resided in Blackfoo until 1937 when they moved to the Upper Cutbank area where many of the Bassett relatives already lived.
Willa attended school at Upper Cutbank then moved into Dawson Creek for high school. She claimed while growing up her brother Don always got her into trouble. She loved to dance, bake and ride horses.
After high school Willa went north with her brother Don where she cooked in an army survey camp. It was there that she met Slim Wilson. They were married in 1950 and moved to Ottawa for one winter. They then moved to Brooks AB for a short time, where their son Cliff was born. They then returned to Upper Cutbank to live next to her Mom and Dad, where they farmed and ranched.
In 1952 they had their second son Dennis and in 1953 Gene was born. In 1958 the family moved to Sunny Brook where they built a house and continued to farm and ranch. Willa raised her family and worked on the farm. In 1959 they were blessed with their daughter Lori.
Willa and Lori spent one summer and fall up north, cooking at one of Bud Fellers’ hunting camps. She thoroughly enjoyed the time spent there.
In 1974 Willa moved to Dawson Creek where she got a job at the Pouce Coupe hospital in housekeeping. She continued to work there for ten years where she enjoyed many special moments spent with patients.
In 1989 Willa married Wayne Fullerton. They enjoyed many hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and camping trips together. They also loved to spend time with their many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Anyone can tell you she made the best bread and cinnamon buns in the country. Willa was also famous for her carrot cake. She used this recipe when she baked and decorated many wedding, birthday and Christmas cakes. As a lot of you can attest too.
Many weekends during the summer were spent at Wayne’s parents homestead in Sunny Brook. It was here that she planted and tended to a large vegetable garden which she shared with her family. This land was also home to Wayne’s sawmill, where they spent many hours sawing lumber. Willa got plenty of exercise stacking planks and packing slabs.
Willa had a passion for caring for family and friends in need. She was never too busy to babysit her grandkids, great grandkids and the occasional dog.
Willa passed away peacefully on July 26 2011 with her family at her side at the age of eighty. She was predeceased by her father Howard, her mother Margaret, brother Don and husband Wayne.
Left to cherish her memory are her four children Cliff (Bev) Wilson, Dennis (Bev) Wilson, Gene Wilson, Lori (Tom) Krantz, Sister in law Vivian Bassett, Nine grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service was held on August 2, 2011 at Bergeron Funeral Chapel, Dawson Creek, British Columbia with Carol Loney officiating. Inurnment followed in the Brookside Cemetery, Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Dorothy Low
1930 ~ 2011
Dorothy was an amazing lady. Dorothy was born in Margo Saskatchewan, moved to Flin Flon, Manitoba in 1930 with her dad (Jack) mother (Jenny) and younger sister Alice.
She met Vic Low and was married in April 1942. These were the Second World War years and Vic was in the RCAF. For a time it was a long distance relationship. When the war was over Vic started a trucking business in Flin Flon, which was a dangerous and challenging endeavour in northern Manitoba. Part of the business was hauling freight over the frozen lakes to remote villages. Dorothy was happy and working for Keddie’s Hardware store and in June 1945 their son Robert John was born. This was an extremely happy time for Dorothy and Vic with the start of their family. Then in December 1946, when Bob was 18 months old, tragedy struck. Vic was on a trip far up north with his cat swing (a cat pulling a series of freight sleighs) when he and his fellow worker in the lead truck broke through a patch of thin ice on the Rabbit river.
It was a terrible loss for Dorothy.
For Bob’s sake she lived together with her Mom and Dad so he had a loving family with him while she went off to work in the Flin Flon Medical Clinic.
Aunty Alice and Uncle Jim (Vic’s best friend) with their two sons Percy and Harvey lived nearby and they always included Bob as part of their family. Dorothy lived in Flin Flon up until 1991 and then moved to Dawson Creek to be with Bob his wife Betsy and her 3 grandchildren Vincent, Rochelle and Greg.
As I was preparing this eulogy, I was trying to find a suitable description for my Mom. To me she was a kind and loving mother who was always around for help, guidance and support. The most common description I have heard from other people who had met my mother, was the word, Amazing. And looking back from that perspective, she truly was an amazing lady.
She was always involved with helping others. She was a leader in the Girl Guides. I remember the stories she told about taking the guides out to Girl Guide camp. Camp was on the other side of Athapap Lake. They travelled over in boats and canoes, and then cleaned out the cabins and Dorothy taught the young girls how to survive on their own in the bush. The leaders made sure the weather was good to cross the lake so that they all arrived back to the other shore safely. This was done without GPS, cell phones and satellite weather forecasts, just confidence and knowledge to guide her.
In Flin Flon the Anglican Church played an important role in her life. As long as I can remember, she was always involved in the WA, Alter Guild, Choir and other church organizations. When she moved to Dawson Creek in 1991, she continued with her involvement with the church - church suppers, the soup kitchen, helping with the fresh fruit sales. I am sure there was an extra B Train re routed from Florida to Dawson because of Mom’s involvement selling fruit.
I remember while in Flin Flon, she was always visiting the seniors in the Care Homes. She was often visiting and taking people out about town when they were no longer able to do it on their own. When she moved to Dawson Creek, she was part of the Adult Day Away program; again helping people whenever she could. Our family was very proud to see Grandma’s picture in the paper, showing her participating in the first Anniversary of the program at Rotary Manor and other events helping seniors.
Dorothy also donated much of her time and effort to the Cancer Society. Before she left Flin Flon the Manitoba Cancer Society recognized her efforts by giving her a Canadian Cancer Society “Certificate of Merit “for her outstanding service and extraordinary dedication to volunteer work. The quote from the society in the paper citing “Service and Dedication to volunteer work,” was one of Dorothy’s main traits... unselfishly helping others throughout her life.
We as a family had great memories with Grandma.
While she was in Flin Flon it was an annual summer vacation trip to see her. We were always at the cabin on the lake out of town. The kids and grandma had a great time fishing, catching frogs, picking berries and playing in the water. Just like any proud grandma she would take them all around Flin Flon to visit her many friends in town.
In 1991 she sold the Flin Flon house and cabin and moved to Dawson Creek. The children had a great time looking for a house for grandma. Fortunately one was found 4 blocks away.
That turned out better than I ever thought. Immediately a garden was planted, flowers planted, and she was signed up on Vince’s paper route. This route by the way was passed down to Rochelle and Greg. Grandma got to see her kids and treat them every day besides reading the paper and voting for her favourite paper carrier.
Her grandchildren were her life. As the children grew up Grandma was a willing witness to all their special events - hockey games, synchronized swimming, piano recitals, soccer games, first rides in all their new cars, graduations, and Rochelle’s wedding.
Rochelle’s wedding was another example of how the word amazing and grandma seemed to naturally go together. By this time Grandma had to move from her home to Rotary Manor. She was not very mobile, but she and the physiotherapist (Jordana - Rochelle’s bridesmaid) worked tirelessly so grandma could get her legs moving so that she could attend the wedding in Grande Prairie. She worked hard at getting those legs moving again. And in time for the wedding, she could transfer from the car to the wheel chair. She thoroughly enjoyed the wedding.
The next day she amazed me again as only grandma can. At the gift opening she slumped over, the EMS guys showed up and I rode with her to the hospital in the ambulance. For years earlier she had her affairs in order, so I knew what my job was. A long story short, she recovered quite quickly. (Like a block from the Greg’s house) . The medical staff wanted to keep her for a couple days observation, tests etc. She wanted to go back to Dawson Creek with me in the car. The Doctor did his best pitch, she waited until he was finished, she smiled thanked him politely and said she would not be staying and not be riding back to Dawson in some bumpy old ambulance. She then was informed that she would have to sign a release form. Again she smiled and asked him to get her purse as she had a pen in it and needed it to sign herself out. She certainly didn’t need me to help her deal with the “System”.
We were talking on the way home and she said it was way more comfortable traveling in the Buick than some old ambulance. She was tucked in bed at Rotary Manor at her regular bed time that night.
That was basically Grandma, throughout her life she had many trials and tribulations but she always exuded confidence and style no matter what the situation.
Dorothy, Grandma, Aunty Doris or Mom as she was called by all who had the privilege of knowing her at the various stages of her life’s history, always described her as an amazing lady.
It is extremely sad for all of us to not have her here with us. She was as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar and will be greatly missed by myself and our family.
When we were together at the lake in Flin Flon, especially in the evening when the lake was calm we would always listen to the loons together.
She said that her and my Dad loved sitting on the lakeshore listening to the loons calling.
So Mom I know you are happy up there with Dad and I know you and he are enjoying the evenings, and listening to the call of the loons once again.
