Completely convinced she was 92, our mom died peacefully at the age of 95. She was predeceased by her parents Dr. Narcisse Albert and Eva (Brule) Laurendeau, siblings Joe, Terry, Marcel (Peggy), and Lucille Dumaine (Rene).
She is survived by her children: Terry (partner Brendan), Louise, Jacquie and Paul (wife Johna), four Grandchildren: Shannon, Max, Tegan and Schale as well as her nieces. She had especially fond memories of Michelle, Mimi and Gord. She also leaves extended family members, friends and caregivers.
Proud of her French-Canadian culture, Jacky was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba. Growing up during the depression, her father was a doctor at St. B. Hospital. Her sister, Terry, became a doctor and specialized in pathology. Following in those family footsteps, mom was also called to medicine, becoming a lab technician and then a nurse. She recalls those early nursing days in her own words, a start on her own obituary she wrote some years ago. It is directly quoted below:
“Graduated in nursing from Misericordia Hospital in 1948, then won a scholarship for a post graduate course in Operating Room in New York, returning to the Misericordia Hospital for one year. After that worked for Dr. Shepherd (Winnipeg Clinic) and with Dr. Bartlett. We became a team and I was allowed to scrub in all the hospitals in Winnipeg as the nurses thought he was very difficult to get along with. It was most interesting being picked up in his Corvette or Bentley at some 80 miles /hr (the police knew him). I worked with him for 6 months and when he was told I was leaving for London, England, he had me do an appendectomy. Betty Bell (now deceased) and I found work at St. Georges hosp. in the Outpatient Department.”
Jacky loved her work. Even during her stay at Parkview Place, she enjoyed talking with her amazing nurse, Evie, about nursing practices, old and new. Sometimes she thought another resident was her patient. The staff said she was very helpful!
Married to Cliff Klan in 1955, they had 4 children. They separated in 1973, divorcing in 1977.
Once again, she continued her nursing career, first at Misericordia Hospital and then in Industrial nursing.
In her adult years she took art lessons and loved to paint. In later years, she sold many of her paintings, including her masterpiece “The St. Boniface Cathedral”, in flames, an event that happened in the late 1960s. Always a St. Boniface-er at heart, she will be buried in the cemetery there, with her parents.
Throughout her life, she continued to travel, enjoying guided tours in Europe with her sister Lucille and brother-in-law, Rene. She also regularly visited her sister, Dr. Terry Laurendeau, in Bellingham, Washington. Kenora and then Falcon Lake were her summer sanctuaries where she painted scenes and fished the days away. Mom truly has gone fishing now!
For over the past 3 years mom lived at Parkview Place. So much gratitude goes to the staff for their love, patience and understanding; they were wonderful with her. As a result, she really felt like she was home on the 10th floor. An original J. Laurendeau painting will be donated to Parkview Place and hang on the 10th floor in remembrance of her.
Flowers are gratefully declined. Donations can be made to The Alzheimer Society, Sleep in Heavenly Peace/Winnipeg or a charity of choice.
A funeral service may be planned for a later date in the spring. Covid restrictions will dictate what that might look like.
”Where ever you go, go with all your heart.” Confucius
