Marcelle Ethier

Marcelle Marie Ethier, 80, left us on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. She was a winter visitor to Yuma, Arizona for many, many years. A church service was held in her honor at Valley Baptist Church (VBC), 3830 W 8th St, Yuma, Arizona, Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 2:30PM. The entire 10 years she was married to her American sweetheart (aka CJ), she attended VBC during the winters, which was his church from boyhood.

She was a citizen of Canada and permanent resident of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she has family, and numerous friends.

She is survived by her husband, Clarence J. Baker, Jr; her children: daughter, Ida Wheeler; son, Brien Toullelan; and son, Luc Toullelan. She was predeceased by her beloved son, Robert (aka Bob) Toullelan, who passed at age 18 from a car accident May 16, 1971.

She was the second born of seven and is survived by five of her siblings: sister, Yvette Schnell; brother, Albert Ethier; sister, Gervaise (aka Carmen) Bussiere; brother, Lorenzo Ethier; brother, Marius (aka Eddy) Ethier. She was predeceased by her sister, Majella (aka Maj) Lapierre, who passed on Sept 12, 2010. Although almost 12 years older, she was closest to her "baby sister", Maj.

She had more than a dozen grandchildren, more than a dozen great grandchildren, and even one great great granddaughter.

She was a compassionate, caring woman. From age 48 to 56, Marcelle raised two granddaughters, Michelle Higgins and Leighanne Werner, to age 18, while working night shift as a nurses aide at Lady Minto Union Hospital in Edam, Saskatchewan, pop. about 400.

She was proud of her French-Canadian heritage. Her father and her mother's father were born in Quebec. She was born and raised on a family farm in the hamlet of St Isidore de Bellevue, Saskatchewan. She learned to read and write English in school but did not speak it then. She spoke only French until age 17, when she started her first job, in the village of Montmartre, Saskatchewan, teaching English to elementary school kids who spoke only French.

She had amazing linguistic skills. When you spoke to her in English, she would translate into French in her head, think in French what she wanted to reply, then translate into English to answer you - all without a perceptible pause in the conversation.

In 1983 she went on a tour to Israel with David Mainse, founder of the popular Canadian Christian talk show, "100 Huntley Street". She was baptized in the River Jordan, at the same location Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. As a Born-Again Christian, she returned to Edam, Saskatchewan, where, in 1984, she was a founding member of Edam Full Gospel Church, of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

She was the consummate hostess, which paired well with her love of baking bread from scratch and socializing. She said just before she passed, "These past 10 years with my CJ, have been the happiest of my life."

A church service in her honor will be held Sunday April 28, 2:00PM at Elim Church, 419 Slimmon Rd, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. For 10 years, while in their Saskatoon summer home, she and her husband, CJ, attended Elim. They were married in Elim Tabernacle Church, on Oct 16, 2002. Their anniversary is also CJ's birthday and his daughter, Lisa's, birthday. A special day for all indeed.