Rita Meloche

Rita passed away peacefully at home, with family by her side, on Friday, March 21, 2014 at the age of 94 (born November 4, 1919). Rita will be dearly missed by her loving husband Lucien “Art” (Joseph Roland) (of 65+ years), her son, John (Joanne Pellerin), grandchildren, Melanie (Jason Mallette), Melissa (Tim Paquet), Emily, Eric and great grandmother to Jacob and Simon as well as several (great) nephews, (great) nieces, cousins, extended family and friends.Rita was a second mother to the “Shields” family (Patrick “Pat”, Larry, Maureen, Joseph “Joe” & John) and the “McVeigh” family (Gary, Cecil “Cec”, Marsha & Diane) as well as Robert Pellerin.Predeceased by her father, Jean-Baptiste “John” McVeigh, mother, Amelia McEwen, sisters, Frances (Willis McKenna), Kathleen “Kay” (Donald Shields), brothers, Leonard (Gwendolyn Leonard), James and survived by Joseph “Joe” (Helen Clarke deceased).

Rita was also predeceased by her father-in-law, Alfred Meloche, mother-in-law, Clarinda Meloche, brother-in-laws Armand, Olivier, Fernand Meloche and sister-in-laws Isabelle and Yvette Meloche as well as Marie-Ange (Oscar Tassé) and her grandson John-Paul.Rita worked over 44 years in Ottawa at both Eatons for 23 years as a purchasing agent and sales representative of the shoe department and at Canada Post for 21 years as a postal clerk.A funeral mass and a reception to follow will be held on Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:00 A.M. at Resurrection of Our Lord Church, 1940 Saunderson Drive, Ottawa, Ontario.Interment will be on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 10:45 A.M., Notre Dame Cemetery, 455 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario.In lieu of cards and flowers, we suggest donations to the charity of your choice with a preference being to the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish for masses in Rita’s memory.

A special thank you goes to Robert Pellerin who helped greatly for several years as well as Emily Meloche and other family members who helped in last few months during Rita’s 24 hour home care.The family recognizes the special efforts of Fr. Paul Tennyson who visited Rita and Art almost weekly for the last several years and the palliative care Doctors, Nurses and Personal Support Workers who assisted Rita’s stay at home during the last few months before her peaceful and comfortable death.