Sr Suzanne passed away at Monarch Hall, Riverview, N.B., Canada, on the 25th of August 2024, at the age of 91 with 69 years of Religious Profession.
Suzanne passed away after a very long illness. We were with her for six days and she left us early on the morning of the 25th.
Her funeral took place on the 29th of August 2024.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, on July 9th 1933, Suzanne is the oldest of three children. After her secondary education at Dalhousie, at the age of 19, she entered the novitiate in Trois-Rivières and became a Fille de Jésus in 1955.
Suzanne began her religious life in the province of Edmonton where she served as supervisor of the boarders in Morinville for twelve years. After a few years of study, in 1970 she went on mission to the West Indies where she taught for three years. Upon her return to Edmonton, she began pastoral ministry with the Blackfoot community in Brocket for three years, then in Calgary and Pincher Creek. In 1984, she returned to the Blackfoot community, this time in Cluny where she worked for three years, providing management and formation for young people and adults. This time given to pastoral care among the Indians has been her most cherished experience in terms of both work and community life.
After a time of renewal in Toronto, Suzanne returned to her home Province of Trois-Rivières. Having been appointed chaplain to the Renous Penitentiary in New Brunswick, she became part of our community in Rogersville and was officially transferred to the Province of Moncton in 1997. The following year she was appointed to the Westmorland Penitentiary and moved to our community of the Provincial House in Moncton.
Having reached retirement age, Suzanne organized activities with our elderly sisters while doing pastoral work in the parish of Riverview and volunteer activities with the ladies of Auburn Circle in Moncton. In 2010, with the other sisters of Moncton, she moved to Riverview where she still found the means to render service according to the needs and her possibilities. Different health problems led her to reduce her activities and in 2016 she was welcomed at Canterbury Hall so as to receive the care she needed.
Suzanne was a very talented and resourceful person. She was never short of ideas to organize outings, activities and snacks for the people she worked with. She always had some on-going projects in which the sisters could get involved. In spite of all her activities, she managed to find time to develop her talents as an artist and to create beautiful paintings. She would encourage the other sisters to help her with her paintings, and then even the less talented in drawing or painting could contribute because she knew how to guide them and to correct the faulty brush strokes. During the last stage of her active life, she did beautiful icons. Her energetic and direct nature helped her to work sometimes in very difficult situations.
On August 25th, 2024 she left us trusting in the God who had called her and whom she followed and served to the best of her possibilities. She was 91 years old and in her 69th year of religious life. May she now rest in the peace, love and joy of God.
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