Alice Beaudoin, 1910 - 2007

Alice Beaudoin, a former resident of McLennan, passed away peacefully at home in Edmonton on December 19, 2007 at the age of 97 years. She was born December 15, 1910 in St. Magloire, Quebec. At the age of 14, she moved with her family to Opasatika in northern Ontario where she met and married Léopold Beaudoin. Beaudoin family moved to northern Alberta in 1947, living in Falher, Guy, and McLennan In the spring of 1947, the Beaudoin family moved to northern Alberta and lived on a farm south of Falher before homesteading in Guy for a few years. Because of Léopold’s failing health, he and Alice bought a house in McLennan in 1960 to be closer to the hospital where Alice was employed at the hospital for four years. Prior to that, she had looked after doctors Paul and Lois Racette’s children. To feed and clothe her family, Alice planted large gardens, canned many jars of vegetables, fruits and meat, sewed and knitted until the early hours of the morning. Regardless of the large family, there was always room for one or more at the table or even a place to stay overnight. Alice was known for her hospitality and touching many lives Known for her hospitality, Alice made many friends and touched the life of many people. Alice lived her Catholic faith to the fullest, always supporting the church and missionaries. She was also an active member of Les Dames de Sainte Anne and Les Dames chrétiennes. Since 1994, Alice had been residing in Edmonton and was lovingly cared for by her daughter Dolores. Alice will be sadly missed by her sons Maurice (Lucille) Beaudoin of McLennan, Réal Beaudoin of Edmonton, Roger (Doreen) Beaudoin of High Prairie, Claude (Lorraine) Beaudoin of Falher, André Beaudoin of Slave Lake, Jean-Marc (Joyce) Beaudoin of Anzac, and Henri Beaudoin of Girouxville, and her daughters Sister Dolores Beaudoin Edmonton, Jeannine (Gérard) Guérette of Girouxville, Claudette (John) Wawrzonek of Falher, Colette (Neil) Vanderkley of St. Albert, and Lise (Dennis) Godin of St. Paul; sons-in-law Lionel Bégin and Marcel Mercier, her 54 grandchildren, 96 great-grandchildren, and eight great-great- grandchildren. She will be fondly remembered by numerous in-laws, nephews, nieces and friends. She is predeceased by her husband Léopold Beaudoin in June 1980, infants Claude in 1931 and Myriam in 1955, daughters Gisèle Dalton in July 1995, Thérèse Bégin in April 2001 and Cécile Mercier in March 2007, son Laval in June 2005, and grandson Jacques Beaudoin in October 1993. A funeral service was held at the St. John the Baptist Cathedral in McLennan on Dec. 27 with Father Boniface N’Kulu officiating. Internment followed in the McLennan cemetery.