Alice Meilleur
(nee Berthelette)
March 6, 1951 – June 1, 2020
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and sister Alice Meilleur. On Monday, June 1, 2020 the Lord welcomed her home with open arms.
Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband of 49 years, Robert; sons, Ronald and Todd (Rosa); daughter Nicole (Bergen); grandchildren, Thomas, Braden, Luke, Colin, Gabriel, Sara and Angelica; mother Yvonne Berthelette; siblings, Raymond (Lucie), Leonard (Faye), Ronald, Brenda (John) Savoie, Elaine (Mario). She was predeceased by her Father, Robert Berthelette.
Alice was born in Pine Falls, Manitoba on March 6, 1951 and lived there with her family and siblings until she married Robert in 1970. At age 15, she got her first job as a waitress in Kenora and went to live with her Aunty Alice and she absolutely loved the experience. Her first job in Pine Falls was at Marshall Wells and she could often be found with her best friend Luch; they were inseparable and maintained a lifelong friendship.
Alice was feisty even in her youth. Her first date with Bert consisted of a ride home from a dance followed by her kindly denying her interest in him. Word has it there may have been a $5 bet involved that she could date him before the end of the night. She did not see him again for a year after that. Thankfully, he did continue to pursue her and so began their love story… (although her brothers and sisters were slightly disappointed as they had preferred the Old Dutch Potato Chip delivery boy she had dated for a brief time. Chip and Dip night was and is a Berthelette Family favourite).
After playing hard to get, and some rumor of perhaps a ring or two tossed into the fields, they decided to go steady. She graduated and decided to move in with Bert’s sister in Winnipeg for a short time to work at the Health Sciences Centre as a Health Care Aide. She was not a fan of Winnipeg so in 1969 she came back to Pine Falls where she finally said yes, and they were engaged and married in the fall.
They lived in a small house on “The Rock” for six years where their two sons, Ron, and Todd, were born. Shortly after that they moved to Winnipeg to raise their family in an apartment that she very much disliked. Her sister-in-law offered to rent them their house in St. Boniface on La Verendrye, and eventually they purchased the house down the street where they welcomed the birth of daughter Nicole.
Following that they spent two years in a house in St. Anne’s, Manitoba owned by Bert’s uncle and finally to their current home on Deschambault where they have stayed ever since. It was here that she made another long-term friendship that was incredibly special to her. Heather was Nicole’s second grade teacher and they met while Alice was volunteering at Marion school. She did this for approximately 7 years before she was offered a paid position as an Educational Assistant. She spent 36 years in total at Marion School, working 29 of those years with special needs children. Here is where she shared her natural gift of caring, empathy and compassion as her love of children has always shone brightly… They were her extended family. The amazing mother and grandmother that she was, she never missed any of her children’s school activities or concerts, even Jazz band. The same rule applied when the grandchildren came along. She always made each one of them feel special and loved.
In 1988, they purchased the Lake Property in Traverse Bay. So many great times have been had there over the years. Alice was always a part of the fun and there was never a dull weekend. There was always an entire troupe of family and/or friends and they would be beaching it, playing volleyball, great music, bonfires and perhaps a few beverages, she was always up with everyone to the end. Her slush pail recipe was infamous. She was also an amazing cook. Whether it was homemade burgers or spaghetti, entire roasts, roasted chickens, or her famous potato salad with red delicious apples, it was always a feast at the lake. She was a natural caregiver and fed everyone with love.
If it happened to be a cloudy day, she would walk along the beach during her prayers and one day she asked the Lord to bring her sunshine… and along came “Sunshine”, a stray pup ran up to her on the beach and was their beloved family pet for over 10 years. Never really wanting a pet due to the hair that comes along with them, she did love her Sunshine.
From a young age, Alice had an unwavering faith and love for Jesus. As a young girl she attended mass faithfully and at one point considered joining the Convent. Her faith and love for Jesus transcended throughout her lifetime. As a mother, she wanted for her children to be raised in faith and to know Jesus. A devout Catholic, she took her family to mass faithfully, ensured they attended Catechism classes and received their sacraments. Alice’s spiritual gift was prayer. When prayers were needed for someone, Alice would receive a call (or a dream) asking her to pray. And she always would. A testament to this is her very thick Bible which is covered in post-it notes with the names of those for whom she prayed, goes back decades. She has always had a great love and admiration to Mother Mary. She said her Rosary every morning with her thick Bible on hand and prayed for those clearly marked on those stickies.
Alice’s hobbies included Bingo, long walks to The Forks, watching her birds and deer at the lake, laundry, and shopping. Especially for sales. She could stretch a dollar further than anyone we knew. She always had a stockpile of paper products, toiletries and meat that could fill a bunker. No Frills was her favourite store. She even snuck out and drove herself there during her illness a few times as there were great sales. Anyone that knew her well, was aware that she was not a fan of driving in Winnipeg especially after being involved in an accident some years back.
She was a fan of Bingo all her life, her children called her a “Bingo-Holic”. They remember the progression well of the chips, to the magnetic chips and wand in the hand sewn bingo bag all the way to the current day dabbers. She was also incredibly lucky.
Alice walked every day. This was her way of clearing her mind of daily stresses. She could walk for miles sometimes disappearing for hours. Walking and praying. She also enjoyed preparing meals for her birds and bunnies that would visit the yard. You can always find a small pile of chopped vegetables and lettuce on her front lawn and carefully cubed up bread. She found out later that her birds were getting fat and having difficulty flying as bread is apparently not good for them.
Now to say Alice was a fan of laundry is an understatement. She LOVED laundry. Never a time when you go to her house is the washer and dryer not humming. Laundry was her serenity, and she was great at it. There was no stain left untreated and she used downy sheets like they grew on trees. She would put them in the sheets, in the clothing drawers, in shoes, everywhere. She was known to take the undies right from her kids bottoms if she ran out of laundry and she always said the first thing she will ask Jesus when she meets him is to take his cloak and make it whiter. Even one of the first times Bert saw her while he passed her open front door, she was ironing. He knew she was the one.
She had a love for her family and grandchildren and dedicated her spare time to make special memories with them. She also never forgot a birthday, anniversary, or any other important event. You could always count on her call to make you feel special that day. Her calendars were a journal of sorts that she transposed from year to year and kept with her other box of treasured memories.
Alice most famously was known for her gift of talk. It was hard to keep up with her in a conversation. She had energy beyond the rest, even when she was sick. She talked and was feisty to the end. She said she could not pass away on her grandson’s birthday so even though she had started strong medication she came in and out of consciousness to watch the clock. She fought to stay with the family by her side and gently passed at exactly 12:02am.
She died as she lived…on her own terms.
The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to all the staff at CancerCare and Concordia Hospital for all their care and compassion.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada and CancerCare Manitoba.
A private family mass will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020