Lucienne McIlmoyle

Lou is survived by her four children; David (Pauline), Karen (Denis), Linda (Howard) and

Colleen (Gary), as well as nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and her sister; Myra and family in England. Lou was predeceased by her husband; Keith (1983).

There will be a funeral service at St. Charles Church on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 11:00AM.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke,

PO Box 460 STN K Toronto, ON M4P 9Z9

Eulogy: Lucienne McIlmoyle

August 26, 2021

Good morning, everyone.

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Lucienne McIlmoyle. For those of you that I have not had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Christine Letwin, Lou’s Granddaughter.

They say that life is not about the number of breaths you take, but of the moments that take your breath away. On this day, I am proud to say, that my grandma had both of that in her 96 years of life.

Some of you knew her as Lou, Mom, Mama Lou, Captain Lou, Grandma, Great-Grandma and to most of us now, Gigi.

Gigi was a lover of life. Especially life surrounded by family. She was strong, independent, hardworking, generous, and man, was she stubborn. Her life was filled with many hardships and so many incredibly, joyous moments.

Lucienne Cornella was born to Martha and George Bird in Belgium, on April 27, 1925. She was the second of their 4 children. Irene the oldest, Norman and Myra her younger siblings. Her family moved to Sheffield, England when she was 12 years old and this is where she grew up.

When the 2nd World War broke out, Gigi was a teenager. And like many teenagers, she made some questionable decisions. We heard of the stories about how she would sneak out of the house at night, amid the air raid sirens, and go dancing with her girlfriends. Not too concerned of the fact a bomb could drop down and any moment. She just loved to dance. It was during one of these dances where she met my grandfather, Keith McIlmoyle. A handsome Canadian solider who swept her off her feet. They were married in Sheffield, 1943.

The newlyweds didn’t have an easy go their first few years of marriage. There were times they were separated for months, like when she had her first child, David in 1944. Keith was off fighting the war in France. Soon after D-Day, only 2 months after David was born, Keith was seriously wounded and had to be evacuated back to England. He had a long recovery ahead, but he was finally reunited with Lou and their newborn son. During the year of Keith’s recovery, Lou had her second child Karen. Shortly after she was born, the family was separated once again. Keith was sent home to Canada to be discharged from the army.

Unfortunately, Lou was unable to travel to Canada with her husband. She had to board a ship and travel 3 long weeks across the ocean to Halifax, alone, with 2 children, under 2 and all her worldly belongings. How on earth did she manage this? How scared she must have been!

After Lou landed in Halifax, she boarded a train and spend days travelling across the country to Alberta. What an incredibly brave woman! What strength, determination, and courage it must’ve took for her to endure these challenging hardships all on her own. She told us of the horror she felt when she stepped off the train and there was no one there to meet her and her two babies. She was so exhausted and panicked. Meanwhile, my grandpa was dealing with a broken-down car on the side of the road trying to get to her. After being completely culture shocked and feeling abandoned, she was finally reunited with my grandpa. There were many tears shed that day.

Lou and Keith settled in their first home on the St. Albert Trail. This was an extremely challenging time for her, having no family or friends, for support. Lou had her third child, Linda in 1947 and her last child, Colleen in 1950.

The family made the decision move to Mornville to be closer to Keith’s family. They spent most of their time on the farm with Keith’s brother Ken and his wife Anne. In the 12 years they lived there, Lou made many great friends. She worked as a waitress at Anne’s Café which was apparently the hot gossip spot in town. Of course, she fit right in.

The family moved back to Edmonton. They also bought a cottage at Alberta Beach where the family spent many summers; camping, waterskiing, fishing, and making wonderful memories. My grandma loved to spend time with her family.

In the late 60’s Lou and Keith went to Europe to reunite with her family in England. She returned numerous times to visit her sister Myra and her family. This continued to strengthen their strong and loving relationship. Gigi encouraged all of us in Canada to keep in touch with our English roots. It was always so important to her and now it has become important to us. Throughout the years, Lou and Myra remained very close. They had daily conversations on the phone to stay connected.

My grandma’s heart was broken when she lost my grandpa to cancer in 1983. This was a very difficult time for her, especially after their 40 years of marriage. She remained a widow for 38 years.

Lou threw herself into the work force with jobs in the retail industry. Her final employment was managing the Clock Gallery at WEM. She loved her job and was very proud of her position. Gigi was definitely a classy lady. I remember how she was always dressed to the nines with her stylish dress suits and 4” heels. Many gentlemen tried to steal her heart, but she would never let them. No one could take grandpa’s place, not ever. She retired at The Clock Gallery when she was 71.

Gigi loved to travel and had so many wonderful adventures. She often reminisced about the amazing times she had visiting Ireland and Tenerife. Being by the ocean filled her with great joy. She loved to go on walks along the beach in Birch Bay, smelling the salty air when the tide was out. Visiting family was always important to Gigi. She would travel to Prince George, Kamloops, Vancouver, and Watson Lake to spend time with her children and their families. She made so many wonderful memories with them.

Gigi was passionate about so many things. She loved sewing, gardening, baking and creating. She made beautiful stained glass, needle points and cross stitching.

Gigi also loved to stay active. She would walk around Beaumaris Lake every day with her little dogs, who she absolutely adored.

The thing she was most passionate about was her Edmonton Oilers. She had season tickets for years and was truly a die-hard fan! One of her pre-game rituals was to go to Kelsey’s Lounge with her good friend Kathleen. They would order just one glass of draft beer each, before hopping on LRT to get to the game. She kept track of all the stats and knew every player’s name and number. When Gigi couldn’t make it to the games anymore, she would watch them on T.V. TELUS sure got an ear full when her T.V. service went down and made her miss the big game! She would get so frustrated if she ever missed one or if the Oilers were losing! And we all knew not to call her while the game was on unless it was the intermission.

Gigi never missed a family event. She loved being part of the action by attending every celebration, Sunday dinner, birthday, camping trip and playing silly games like pie face with the kids. Spending time with family and friends was so important to her.

At 96 years old, Gigi still lived in her home and carried a valid driver’s license. She embraced the ever-changing technology by being an active member on Facebook and reading on her Kobo. She still loved to crack open a bottle of Stella beer on a hot summer day and would make the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

I know you’re looking down on us today, seeing how much we all love you. Life won’t be the same without you here. We will miss you so much.

I know I haven’t captured all your life’s breathtaking moments here today, but just know, that you will always be with us whenever we’re together, as we share our beautiful memories of you.