Carmel Rose DeGagne

July 16, 1938 – June 4, 2021

Carmel Marie Rose DeGagne (nee Pelland), beloved wife to Arthur for 62 years, passed away to be with the Lord on Friday, June 4, 2021, at the age of 82 years old.

She leaves behind her 4 daughters, Deborah (Brian) of Surrey, BC, Carole (Brad) of Stoney Creek, Ontario, Louise (Al) of Logan Lake, BC and Sandra (John) of Merritt, BC., her grandchildren Ashleigh (Kyle), Joshua (Shawna), Cameron, Samantha, Colton, Mitchell, Lance and James; her great-grandchildren, Madeleine, Kayden and Judah. As well as her sisters, Jeannine, Rachel, Denise, Carol, Gisele, her brothers Camille and Gilbert, she is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, extended family and many dear friends. She was sadly predeceased by her sisters Yvette, Claire and brother Roger.

Carmel was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother and a wonderful friend to all who knew her. She was constantly the life of the party. Carmel made everyone in her presence feel special and loved. We know she is dancing in heaven now! We will miss you Carmel, and never forget the joy you brought to our hearts.

A heartfelt thank you to the care staff, nurses and doctors at Gillis House for the love and kindness and for going above and beyond for our mother during her 4 years living there. We are so grateful for all you did for Carmel and our family.

In lieu of flowers please donate to the Alzheimer Society of BC.

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Eulogy:

My name is Deborah Nichol and I am the oldest daughter of Carmel DeGagne. Its an honor to tell you about an amazing women I was blessed to call “Mom”.

My family and I want to thank you so much for attending today, some of you driving a long way. Your presence means so much to my Dad and us girls. We have truly loved all the wonderful messages, cards and flowers we have received.

Carmel Marie Rose DeGagne was born to Madeleine and Cyril Pelland on July 16th, 1938 in Ste. Agathe, Manitoba. She was the 3rd oldest of 11 children.

As a young girl my mom enjoyed skating in the winter on the Red river and playing baseball in the summer. She was very good at both. She told me that in the evening, when it was time for everyone to come in from being outside, her parents often found she had already put herself to bed. When she became an adult she loved to stay up late at parties.

Mom started working at Eatons in downtown Winnipeg when she was around 17 years old. She loved working there. Mom and Dad met through friends around 1958 and started dating. They spent Saturday nights dancing at parties or playing cards with their group of friends. Mom loved to dance every time there was music. She gave her love of dancing to her daughters.

My parents fell in love and married on August 1, 1959 at the St. Boniface Cathedral and had a small reception at my grandparents house, Eliza and Lucien DeGagne.

For a while they lived in a tiny apartment above my grandparent DeGagne’s house.

In January 1961 their first daughter was born. That’s me. My mother and father taught me to speak French, which I am so grateful for today. (Merci Papa!).

Eventually Mom and Dad bought a small house in Windsor Park, Manitoba. Then their 2nd daughter, Carole was born in February of 1963. We lived there for about 2 years until Dad got transferred to Burnaby to help open up the Hayes Dana Plant. So off they moved to BC with 2 small children in tow.

Mom and dad bought a house in Maillardville, Coquitlam and spent many wonderful years there. We had fruit trees, a garden, a big yard and many wonderful French relatives and friends in the neighborhood. We attended Our Lady of Fatima Church for many years. My mother stayed home to care for us while also spending time having coffee and visits with the neighbors. In the summer mom would add boiled water to our kiddie pool so it would be warm for us. It seemed to take forever.

In 1965, on my mother’s 27th birthday, she received a wonderful gift when her 3rd daughter Louise (Lulu) was born.

Four years later on July 20th, 1969 her 4th daughter was born. This is the day that the men landed on the moon. The doctor suggested mom and dad call her Luna but they went with Sandra instead!

Almost every year we would travel back to Manitoba to visit our much missed relatives. First by train and then by car. We enjoyed those visits very much. I’m not sure how Mom and Dad felt about traveling 1500 miles with 4 little girls in the back seat!

In 1971 we moved to Maple Ridge where Dad built our new house. Mom decorated the house and chose all the decor, including different colored shag carpeting in every room.

We had lots of help with the house from Roger Jolicoeur, Noel Chartier and Lucien DeGagne, our grandpa. Over the years we had a lot of family guests. I mainly remember my parents hosting numerous gatherings and many fantastic parties, always featuring Mom’s amazing cooking.

Mom returned to the workforce in 1974, working at the Eatons catalogue office in Maple Ridge. When Eatons closed their store, she was hired at Sears, first at the catalogue office and then Sears clearance centre. She really enjoyed her job, and was happy there. It was supposed to be a part time job but because she was such a great employee she was called in often.

Mom was incredibly supportive when each of us girls got married. She was a big part of planning and preparing the weddings. I felt blessed when she also got to be part of my daughter Ashleigh’s wedding to Kyle and my son Joshua’s wedding to Shawna.

Mom was thrilled when her grandchildren came along. My children Ashleigh, Joshua and Cameron, Carole’s children Samantha and Lance, Lulu’s twins Colton and Mitchell and Sandy’s son James. My mother also got to know and spend time with her great-grandchildren Madeleine, Kayden and Judah. She was incredibly generous and loved to spoil them.

One day we visited mom and dad in Maple Ridge just after Ashleigh was born. Mom ran to the car took Ashleigh inside without even noticing Brian and I. She adored all of them.

The grandchildren couldn’t wait to see their grandparents. She brought them special things every time that she saw them. I’m sure the grandchildren will not forget her large bags of delicious home made donuts that she often sent home with them!

Us 4 daughters loved phoning mom and sharing our stories with her. I recently found out that we each had our special phone call relationship with mom when we couldn’t wait to tell her something. She made each one of us feel important and loved.

My parents lived in Maple Ridge for 28 years. One of mom’s favorite things to do was play BINGO! She also volunteered at the St. Patrick’s bingo for years and rarely missed a Friday night. She was very involved with the evening snack for the volunteers and with counting the money afterwards. Dad recalled when she won the jackpot while playing BINGO with her sister Yvette in Winnipeg. She was thrilled!

In 1999 Dad got transferred to Kelowna and eventually retired. They started a different life socializing with many friends and family. They looked forward to their winter vacations in Arizona or Mexico in their motor home, where they often spent 3 months at a time.

All of us girls and our families spent many Sunday dinners with mom and dad over the years, and we were always welcomed with open arms. I am sure everyone that entered my parents home felt the same way.

Mom was a fantastic cook and always put on such a wonderful feast. Each Boxing Day mom and dad would have a huge party at their house. Many of you have probably been to our house in those days. There was always so much food. She worked for weeks to prepare an incredibly, delicious meal, perogies, cabbage rolls, meatballs, tortiere and many other dishes. Mom and Dad were great hosts and truly loved having visitors.

As many of you know Carmel was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It was heartbreaking for all of us when mom began changing and was finally admitted into a long term care home. She was still sweet and loving but was losing her memory. Our wonderful Dad visited her every day for almost 4 years. We have our wonderful memories of mom and prefer to focus on the beautiful person she was and the wonderful life she lived. She was a mom that will always be remembered for her smiles and the happiness that she brought to our lives. If you were blessed to have spent time in her presence you were forever changed. Carmel was and will continue to be an inspiration to us all for living life to the fullest.

Many years ago my mother asked me to sing at her funeral. I know I would never be able to do it without tears so I have made a recording that I feel she would have loved.

C’est pour toi Mama! Je t’aime avec tous mon coeur.