A MESSAGE FROM THE FAMILY

ELEANOR MAGNAN - EULOGY Good Morning everyone, welcome and thank you for joining us this morning. I would also like to welcome all of you who have joined us on our Live Stream that the church is providing. Thank you for being with us. Before I start, I would like to acknowledge the amazing, loving care the HCA’s & LPN’s of LH, gave so freely to Mom over the last almost 3 yrs. You never failed to laugh with her, love her in your special way and make the bed time routine one that was so special. Mom always went to sleep knowing she was so loved. She often said with a twinkle in her eye, “I think I’m their favourite”. Oh we will never forget her voice when she would say “Eleanor is here” “good nite” “love you too” “hi” or the many funny things she would say that made all of us laugh. What a great sense of humour. A heartfelt thank you to all of you! Thank you Father Patrick, and your wonderful team here at St. Teresa’s, for making the last few days as easy as possible. Pallbearers, thank you for saying “yes”, Mom had a special place in her heart for you, and Lindsay, thanks for always supporting me in the time I wanted to spend with Mom and special thanks Renee, for giving Gramma your all, for many years. It is an absolute honour to be able to share my mom with all of you. As I said to Father earlier in the week, I would want everyone to know about Mom. Might even brag on her a bit, if that’s ok. First I have to tell you, planning Mom’s funeral has brought many tears, but more important so many smiles, and in absolute awe many times. Mom was an extremely organized person throughout her life, and she knew exactly what she wanted for her last wishes. Preplanning at the funeral home is one thing, but Mom had everything planned out. The poems, short sayings, pallbearers, 1st Reading, plus which hymns every step of the way. Then let me tell you about her flowers and how much love and thought she put into the spray. One large gerber daisy for Dad, 6 lilies for each one of the children, 3 blue carnations for each grandson, 5 rose carnations for each granddaughter and baby’s breath. With the later arrival of Mom’s precious great grandchildren, 3 small gerbers were added. Now that’s impressive, but that was Eleanor! Our precious Mom, Eleanor, was born Dec 30,1928 in Beaumont. She was the oldest of 4 children born to Emerie and Imelda L’Heureux. Mom enjoyed the country living, as she was raised on a farm about 5 miles outside of Beaumont. Mom’s parents wanted a better education for their children, as they had very little themselves. Mom’s first 3 yrs of school, was at a boarding school, Convent Notre Dame in Morinville, just north of Edmonton. She would only see her parents at Christmas and Easter, as they did not have a car to go visit. Pretty tough for a shy little girl, leaving her parents and siblings behind. Mom loved school, was extremely good in spelling & excelled in French studies. So much so that she was first in the provincial exams, 2 yrs in a row! What an honour! Her parents were very proud! By the 4th grade country schools had progressed a lot. Teachers were more tolerant of the “have nots”. Eleanor attended Charest Country School for 3 yrs. It was a 2.5 mile walk, horse & buggy “pickup” by her dad, for her and the other kids or horse & cutter. Mom wrote in her memoir “sometimes a horse would run away, with all those children in the cutter. They would jump out, or one by one I would help them or push them out and we would all land in the snow bank. “That was fun times”! Mom continued to excel and enjoy school, spelling still being her forte. There were spelling matches at school, grades 4 up to grade 9 kids, and many times Eleanor was the last one standing! Quite a feat! There was also a play in which Eleanor remembers being chosen to play Mary for the Christmas scene. She enjoyed memorizing the lines, and yes oh so fitting! At the end of Grade 6, Eleanor joined her brother, Louis, at Mission in Lac La Biche. She was only there for about 6 months, when as a young girl full of hopes and dreams, she got some terrible news. Losing her mother at 14 yrs. old and being the eldest, it was only natural that she would now stay home to take care of her 2 siblings and mind the home. I believe this really shaped Mom. She knew she had a task at hand, that it would not be easy but she would still do a great job, just as she did throughout her life. Always grateful, trusted God, no matter what. With help from the aunties and cousins mom learned to cook, sew, bake, knit and on and on. Whatever it took, mom made the best of everything. I’m thinking Mom grew up pretty fast. One of the fun times for her was when her father started to take her to the local dances. Oh she didn’t want to go but he really encouraged her, he knew it would be great for her to get out, meet people, socialize and have some fun. Grandpa taught her to dance and she loved it. Friday nites were always something she looked forward to. And that followed thru to Mom teaching us kids to dance in our farm house just outside of Beaumont. Music on and away we would go! Mom married Richard, our father, on Oct 18th, 1948. That was the start of a great journey. Dad worked in the oil patch and moved around a fair bit, all the while having his family with him. Mom already knew what hard work was, so living in a trailer, sometimes at the rig site, with 6 kids was no easy task but she did a magnificent job taking care of everything. Sometimes no running water but always grateful and did the best with what she had to work with. In the early 60’s the family moved to the farm, 5 miles south east of Beaumont. Mom felt blessed as she had a house and space for the kids. With everyone pitching in, quite the home was created. We had chickens, cattle, berries, a huge garden, Dad farmed and we all had a huge playground, all the while enjoying all of the pluses, and hard work of farm living. Mom sewed a lot of our clothes, knitted and of course did lots of mending with 6 active kids on a farm. When Dad was away for work, Mom just took over with running the farm on top of the household. Gosh, I’m not sure how she did it all, teaching, helping, supporting all of us kids to do what needed to be done. Going above and beyond to have our needs met, whether it was school work, having fun times, helping us learn to cook and bake, and just be good kids. And then to get 6 kids ready for school or church on Sundays… I can’t even imagine. Oh it was just her, always taking care of others, spreading her caring loving way, no matter how difficult it was at times. Mom was also quite the entrepreneur. Wanting to make extra money, not usually for herself, but for the home or maybe for a new outfit for one of us for a special occasion. I’m not sure how she found the time but Eleanor sold Fuller Brush, going from farm to farm in the area, and creating a good little business for herself. Mom was also very talented in crochet, and sold her amazing pieces at the City Market. She also sold eggs, chickens, raspberries, or whatever else she thought could make a few extra dollars. In between all of this Mom & Dad did a bit of travelling, Paris, Europe, Japan, Hawaii, several trips to see the cousins down east to name a few. Mom and I also took a trip to Vegas and Florida. Oh I have to tell you a story. We rented a red convertible while we were in Florida, and on Sunday morning when we were getting ready to go to church, I asked Mom if she thought we should put the top down, and she said with a big smile “well of course”. Oh we had so much fun together. By the late 70’s Mom & Dad were ready to move to Edmonton. This was a new adventure again. The kids were on their own and it was time for her to pursue some of her passions. For the first time she wanted to get a job. Something part time, that would get her out meeting people and fulfilling a desire. In no time she started to work at the Derrick Country Club, and in a short period of time she was the head banquet manager which she totally enjoyed for 6 yrs. Here too she took on the role of mentoring, supporting and teaching those young kids about the etiquette of serving others. She was so excited to be “the one” to serve the head table. She was very particular, as in many things she did, wanting the day to be special for the guests. It was absolutely perfect for her. She was so loved, appreciated and it was a wonderful experience. So what a lot of you may not know, was that when Mom was in her 70’s she decided she was going to write her memoir. She enrolled and attended a university class to help her fulfill that dream. I was so excited for her to see her pursue something she had talked about for quite some time. Here she was, with a grade 7 education, and part of a class with students all much younger than her. Oh Mom, you did it again, and I was so proud of you! This actually matched perfectly with all of her other writings she did. Mom took incredible notes on dates of events, history, memorable news, songs, poems, genealogy and many other things of interest. Oh yes and we can’t forget her journalling. She did a lot of that, long before it was ever popular. In many ways, Mom was ahead of her time. Some of her other special interests were nature, spending time in her garden, flowers, shrubs and making sure all was good. She loved being out at the lake with the trailer, especially when the grand kids spent a few days, reading the daily paper from front to back and yes included a few puzzles too. Eleanor played a mean game of scrabble, and loved chatting on the phone. She just loved people! In 2009, Mom & Dad moved to Independent Living in Churchill Manor. Mom was in her early 80’s and vibrant as ever. Not having to cook was a blessing for Mom. She was kinda done with that, after all the years of being a great chef for all of us. Every family event, every birthday, every everything, Mom put her heart into the kitchen. Always special, with attention to details. She loved her new home. She loved to dress up to go for meals, chatted with everyone, was eager to hear about other resident’s stories, and never forgot to compliment the chef. Here too, she didn’t waste any time getting involved with weekly mass, and making sure everything was just right for Father. She even took it upon herself to wash and press the alter coverings. Mom was also in charge of the Knitting Club and was very good at it. She knew how to make everyone feel special, appreciated and loved. Oh it was so her way! Mom herself took on a huge project, wanting the new born babies at the Grey Nuns Hospital, to receive a hand knitted, baby blanket. Not just hand knitted, but filled with her love, attention to detail and just so beautiful. One year Mom called the hospital to find out about how many babies were born on Christmas Day. Well she committed to knitting over 50 Christmas baby blankets!! No 2 were the same, made with beautiful Christmas colours. With so much pride, she delivered them to the hospital herself. Always willing to take on another “experience”, mom was game to take part in the fashion show. You would never know this was her first time, Oh my gosh, she just shone. One of many proud moments. After 61 yrs of marriage, Dad passed away in 2009. Eleanor continued to do the things she loved, meeting people, spending time with her grand kids, being there for her kids, outings, dinner out especially after Saturday mass, drives out to the country, and visiting with the “young people”. She was such a great listener, never judgemental and always supportive whether she agreed with it or not. About 3 yrs ago, Mom moved to Laurel Heights Supportive Living. She wasn’t quick to give up her independence, but so appreciated the extra help. She got around in her suite with a walker, but it wasn’t long a wheelchair was in order so Renee & I could take her for “walks”. Whether a simple stroll in the building, or her favourite, going outside to enjoy the sun and fresh air. Even better was when we would have a picnic and just chat. Mom loved to have her radio on, and just as she would say, “just closing my eyes”. Always so grateful for every visit, every call, every act of kindness, and she didn’t hesitate to express it. Thank you’s were abundant every day. Mom was strong in her faith, a child of God, and knew the power of prayer and the Lord’s greatness. Up until very recently, we had our ritual, a prayer and communion. It was special. Oh I could spend hours telling you so much more about Mom, but I hope you get a sense that our mother, wife, sister, mother in law, aunty, friend and special lady was so loving, caring, thoughtful and even with her short comings, absolutely perfect in every way. Eleanor had a wonderful life, and she was tired. It was time for her to be lifted into heaven, into the arms of our Lord. She loved her family so much! Mom, you will be missed - see you again. Love you big!

OBITUARY

Eleanor Anna Marie Magnan

December 30, 1928 – January 14, 2022

IN THE CARE OF

Hainstock's Funeral Home & Crematorium

Our beloved Mom, Eleanor, was gently lifted up on angels’ wings and carried into the loving arms of our Lord.

Left with broken hearts and many memories are her six children; Michael, Diane (Dave Desjardins), Norman, Louise (Denis Richard), Rosceline (Lindsay Hobbs), and Adele; eight grandchildren, Jodi, and Danielle, Trevor, Erin, Renée (Jamie), Lee (Charmae), Paul (Kat), and Sarah; three great grandchildren, Emma, Andi, and Jaxton; sister, Josephine Leblanc.

Eleanor was predeceased by her husband, Richard; brother, Louis L’Heureux (Imelda); brother in law, Marcel Leblanc, and little sister, Elizabeth.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal”

Hainstock’s Funeral Home and Crematorium is participating in Alberta’s restrictions exemption program. All individuals attending indoor services will be required to provide COVID-19 proof of vaccination or proof of a privately-paid negative rapid test result taken within 72 hours of service, or documentation of medical exemption.

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