Lucille Marcelle (nee Drouin) Fancy

Lucille passed away at home in Port Coquitlam, BC, on March 22, 2019, at the age of 80. She was the daughter of Joseph Eugene Drouin of Saint-Bernard, QC, and Germaine Normand of Sainte Rose du Lac, MB. Lucille was born in Saint Boniface, MB, in 1939. She is predeceased by her grandson Micki and her sister Jeanne. She is survived by Sid (her husband of 58 years), her children Chris (Grace) and Stephanie (Andrew), her grandchildren Michelle (Jon), Stephen (Heidi), Jeffrey, Richard, Nicole, and Benjamin, her great-grandson Avery, her brothers Ernie and Jim, and her sister Alice.

In the 1960s, Lucille trained and worked as a radiotherapy technician at St. Boniface Hospital in Manitoba. Married life brought new opportunities and Lucille, her husband and young family gradually moved westward from the Prairies, settling down for good on the BC south coast in 1978. She cared for others wholeheartedly wherever she lived and made lifelong friends in Winnipeg, Dauphin, Brandon, Saskatoon, and the greater Vancouver area. After working for several years for Canadian Blood Services in Vancouver, she and her husband retired to Port Coquitlam to be closer to her grandchildren.

For Lucille, her family was her joy and her top priority; she was a part of their lives no matter the distance, no matter their age. From the babies to the teenagers to the eldest seniors in the extended family, Lucille was always enthusiastic and curious to hear about what was going on for each of them; not only the exciting news and milestones, but also the smaller challenges and goals of daily life. We, her immediate family, appreciated how she would soak up all that we told her and still have the desire and energy to hear more. With her gift for conversation, she could be counted upon to exchange our news for that of other family members across the country; if you wanted to know what was going on with anyone, you needed only to ask Lucille.

She took particular delight in the arrival of new babies to her circle of family and friends, and recently celebrated the birth of her first great-grandchild; nurturing the next generation brought her much happiness.

Lucille was always humble about her own talents; she baked award-worthy shortbread, could create a child’s costume last-minute, was fashionable and practical. She was always well prepared, with an array of lists, notes and schedules to keep everything and everyone in order for any event, be it a wedding or a weekend at home. Lucille liked kettle corn, cribbage and Scrabble and sharing those things with her family.

As generous with her time as she was with a compliment, Lucille was remarkably thoughtful, supportive and inclusive of others. You were lucky indeed if she was your friend or neighbour, as she would treat you like family from the start; you’d not be allowed to leave her kitchen hungry or have a birthday pass without her celebrating it.

The people she cared for were always on her mind and Lucille took pleasure in spontaneous gift-giving; she had a well-deserved reputation as a savvy shopper, and it brought her great satisfaction to hunt for and find an item that would be “just perfect” for one of the people she loved. Moreover, the principle that everyone in the family should experience the comfort of quality socks was one she supported fully; no member of the family could go a year without Lucille buying them at least one new pair. She was partial to warm, fuzzy winter socks and amusingly-patterned dress socks.

These are just a few of the special qualities that endeared Lucille to so many people. While we grieve that she left us far earlier than expected, we cherish the memories of joyful times spent with her and the love she shared and showed us every day of her life.

A funeral mass will be held for Lucille on Saturday April 27, 2019, at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 3141 Shaughnessy Street, Port Coquitlam, BC at 11:00 am. Memorial donations can be made in Lucille’s honour to BC Children’s Hospital.