Jeannette "Janet" (Sauteur) Marie McGiffin

From a very early Stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis on Oct 7th, 2019, to a shattering Jan 13th confirmation Mom by then had both advanced Stage 4 lung cancer & very aggressive Hodgkins Lymphoma. We promised her, “You will not be alone. You will not feel pain. We will be okay.” We cared for Mom at home for 2 weeks, then admission to the amazing Ty Watson House Hospice, where we could just be with her at any hour & one of us stayed with her each night. Our sincere thanks to everyone at TWH; there are no words to describe the extraordinary kindnesses of all the nurses, care aide staff, the house & kitchen volunteers for everything they did for Mom. Our special thanks to Dr Wendy Johnson for all her efforts in hospital, at home & in hospice to see to Mom’s care & comfort.

Mom felt all the love for her in every cell of her poor little body, in every facet of her soul. She told us, “I feel so lucky, I feel all wrapped up in love. I am not afraid, I am ready to go.” After 4 weeks of struggling for her every breath & surrounded by her little family, Mom died peacefully, whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you.” Smooth brow... Restful face… Quiet... Hers was a graceful, gentle, peaceful transition. Go with God, little Momma. Thank you for all your love. We don’t know what we will do without you, but you left enough love in all of us to go around for generations. We will enjoy your legacy forever.

We are all so grateful to everyone able to visit & spend a little time with Mom, she was so happy to see you all; she just didn’t have enough energy or time for more. Special thanks to Mom’s loving sisters, Alice & Terri (& Peter) for everything, but especially for helping Mom & Kevin to finish her books, that meant the world to her; to her baby sister Brenda for all the nightly rescues & the ‘legs up;’ to ‘her girls,’ Lori, Debbie & Barb (& Brian, we know all you did), to ‘her boys ‘Erich & Adam,’ for their quick pop in; to her much adored grandchildren, Luc, Alixe (& Mike), Jasmine & Jeremy, so much love; to Joe & Imelda for loving us & Mom the way you do. We are deeply grateful to our other brother Kirk & his Marion for their genuine love, for all they did for Mom & Bob over the years, and for adopting her little dog/child, Scampi. To her dear friends, Rose & Del Diewold, Irene Jacobson & Anne Ethier, thank you for being such loyal friends to Mom, especially in her last weeks. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who kindly brought or sent food, flowers or cards, gave hugs, help, love, support & did anything to brighten any moment of Mom’s final days. Mom so appreciated all the positive thoughts, prayers, emails, photos, short calls (she so loved hearing your voices), messages of love & encouragement from those who could not travel, but held her close in their hearts.

Jan was a hard- working, fun-loving woman who immersed herself in the community. She was an active & involved member of the FL Curling Club, Kinettes, Royal Canadian Legion & was a dedicated businesswoman. She inherited her love of gardening from her Mom & passed it along to her own next 3 generations; a garden was her church, planting & digging in the dirt were her acts of hope & worship. She was an avid history buff, voracious reader, master knitter. She loved to curl, golf & dance. She loved to cook, bake & to entertain; her meals were amazing, her apple pies were legendary. She was an independent traveler, known for her road trips. She was a formidable cribbage, Scrabble & Boggle player & could chug a glass of beer with the best of ‘em, to the astonishment of many a young buck. If you were so lucky as to have her as your friend, you were lucky enough.

Mom’s heart & door were always open to anyone going through a rough patch, or who wanted or needed a safe haven. Indeed, our childhood weekends were filled with family, friends & folks with nowhere else to go for Sunday dinners that occasionally started on Friday evenings. Many folks, young or old lived with us for weeks or months, until they could get on their feet. She often went to bat for people she believed in; if she believed in you, you should, too.

Above all, Mom loved her family; all of it, no matter what. She famously kept in touch with everyone by sending out birthday & anniversary cards without fail (Carlton & Hallmark Cards & Canada Post will soon notice her absence). Mom had been the true Matriarch of our family since she was a child.

The eldest of 9 children, Jan was born on Oct 30, 1940 in Treherne, MB, to parents Andre & Madeleine Dupras (nee Potvin). She grew up in farm country around St Claude, MB, until she & her first love Bert Sauteur led the way to BC where they were married in 1957. Their 3 children were born in Kitimat, BC; they moved from there to the then- thriving Village of Fraser Lake, BC to raise their family, build a home & a business.

After their move to Creston, BC in 1980, Jan experienced a series of life-changing experiences. She & Bert agreed to part. They too soon tragically lost their daughter Kim. They joyfully became grandparents. Jan obtained Long-Term Care Aide certification. She moved to Port Alberni, BC to be close to Sandra’s family, where she eventually met her second love, Bob McGiffin, a fun & sentimental man we all dearly loved. These two were fabulous co-grandparents, off on several memorable adventures. Jan worked for a few years with Sandra in her business, but when they felt they were missing out on Kevin & his family, they moved to Winnipeg, MB where they reconnected with even more family, and were married. There, Jan enjoyed working as an LTC Aide, half the year there & half in San Diego, CA; she loved this, as Bob got to join her there often.

When Mom retired, they moved to Kelowna, BC. As a result of Bob’s health challenges, they headed back to Port Alberni a few years later to be closer to their families. Mom took great care of Bob for so long, but sadly he passed away last July. During those years Mom became deeply interested in her ancestry, and delved back to the early 1600’s. This inspired her to create incredible “Family Story Book,” albums, scores of them, treasured gifts for several of her & Bob’s family members.

During a 2018 family reunion Mom had described to her nieces Debbie & Barb her long dreamt- of ‘Pilgrimage to Quebec,’ to see where her grandfathers had lived, & where her father & his brothers had been stationed for training during the war, those amazing ladies arranged for & accompanied her on that trip of a lifetime last summer. Together they retraced Grandpa’s steps & hunted for landmarks to recreate photos of Mom exactly where her Dad had stood so long ago, looking through archives in churches, touring the countryside & checking out Montreal. Mom was beyond thrilled with this precious gift from ‘her girls.’

Jan is survived by her children, Sandra (Joe) Lamoureux & Kevin Sauteur (& Imelda Baldo & her family); grandchildren, Luc Lamoureux (& Jordynn Graham), Alixe (Mike) Diewold, Jasmine Sauteur, Jeremy Sauteur (& Nicole Flett); great- grandchildren, Henri & Forest Diewold & Ember Edkins; special stepson, Kirk (Marion) McGiffin (& all of Bob’s family); siblings Al (Neomee) Dupras, Alice (Fred) Smith, Terri (Peter) Wohlfarth, Charlie (Shirley) Dupras, Ron (Pat) Dupras, Raymond (Julia) Dupras & Brenda (Hassan) Chehade; 1st husband Bert Sauteur (& Sharon Sloan); nieces & nephews, Tosha (Valerio) Dupras, Don (Laurie) Price, Debbie (Gerhard) Dachwitz, Doug Price, Bonnie (Peter) Hickey, Annette Smith, Troy Smith, Barb Gallacher Scott (& Brian Darbyshire), Lori Gallacher, Clayton (Laurette) Dupras, Lee (Shanda) Dupras, Jay (Lonnie) Dupras, Kirt (Alisha) Dupras, Ryan Dupras (& Britanee Cornett), Ahmad Chehade, a host of great- nieces & great-nephews, and countless dear friends.

Mom was predeceased by her dear daughter, Kim Sauteur, parents, Andre & Madeleine Dupras, special uncles Rene (Ray) Dupras & Frank (& Alice) Potvin, sister Yvette Price- Sauteur, brother-in-law Bob Price, nephew, Gene Dupras, husband Bob McGiffin , step-grandson BJ Baldo, and by several aunts, uncles, cousins & dear friends. We know you have joyfully reunited with all your loved ones, Mom… Somehow, sometime, we will be okay. We shall see you on the other side when it’s our time. Until then, keep dancing and rest well.

As Mom wished, cremation has taken place (arranged by Chapel of Memories Funeral Directors in Port Alberni, BC). A private family Celebration of the Life of this beautiful soul will take place at a later date. Afterwards, her cremains will be returned to Fraser Lake to rest with Kim.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making things better for other people by making a donation in Memory of Jeannette McGiffin, to Ty Watson House Hospice, to The Canadian Cancer Society or to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (via the following links), or to a favorite charity of yours.

https://www.albernihospice.ca/donate-today.html

https://www.cancer.ca/en/get-involved/support-us/give-a-gift-in-memory-or-in-honour/?region=bc

https://www.llscanada.org