George Couturier, 1926-2008

George Alfred Joseph Couturier of Falher passed away in the McLennan Sacred Hospital on February 24, 2008 at the age of 81 years. George was born August 22, 1926, in Edmonton to Alfred and Leonida Couturier of Lamoureux, Alberta. In 1928, Alfred & Leonida took Jeanne, George, and Arthur and moved to the Peace River area homesteading in Jean-Cote. The following eleven siblings completed the family of 14: Anna, Wilfred, Therèse, Antoinette, Leonidas, Juliette, Laurier, Bernadette, Leo, Bernard, and Marie. In his young adult years George worked in sawmill bush camps, as he was exempt from partaking in the war. At the age of 23 George met Marie Laurin from McLennan and on November 29, 1949 they were married. Together they had nine children, Rosie-Jane (nee Rosaire), Yvonne, Roseanne, Annette (Estelle), Joyceline, Richard, Edward, Suzanne, and Doris. They made their homestead 11 miles northwest of Jean-Cote. George was a jack-of-all-trades; he moved houses/barns, logged, fabricated, welding, mechanics, and owned a sawmill. He helped many neighbors and friends break and open land in the Jean-Côté area. In 1971, George left this Peace River area and moved to the Northwest Territories, making Norman Wells his new home for 31 years. His creativity and innovation never ceased and it was not long before the town put his talents to use. He was self-employed, working mostly for the town of Norman Wells hauling water and groceries, and was a vacuum truck operator, just to name a few. He owned & operated Spruce Valley Taxi Ltd. Rosaire and Edward worked here with him for a short time, and Doris visited in the summer of 1982. In January, 2002, George broke his neck due to a fall. It was therefore necessary that his family step in to bring him back to the Peace River area for retirement. He was a resident at the Heritage Tower Lodge for a time and later moved to the Villa Beauséjour, in Falher. Dernièrement, il aimait bien écouter et chanter à la vieille musique quand le Villa célébrait les “fêtes du mois.” Marie alla le chercher pour qu’il puisse réjouir dans la musique que Gérard “et compagnie” leurs démontraient. George was predeceased by both his parents, his siblings Leonidas (16yrs), Bernadette (10mons), and Bernard (47yrs). George leaves behind his 9 children, 31 grand children and over 26 great-grand children.