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Obituary of Jeanne Balcaen
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Jeanne Balcaen, aged 81 years, on February 16, 2020.
She leaves in mourning Louis, her loving husband of 55 years, her children Paul (Hélène), Donald (Debra), and Jo-Anne (Tim), and her grandsons Joseph and Alexandre.
Memories of Jeanne will be cherished by her remaining siblings Edouard, Paul-Guy (Claudette), Dora (Bob), Philippe (Jacqueline), Norman (Marie), Raymond (Lorraine), Pauline, Elaine and Charles. She was preceded in death by siblings Lucille, Lilliane, and Norma, and in-laws Denis Saint-Laurent, Bill Caufield and Lorraine Dugas.
She will also be greatly missed by her remaining in-laws Berthe, Florence, Hubert (Denise), Jean (Armande), Jules (Louise), Yvette (Roland) and Claude (Suzanne). She was preceded in death by Fernand, Georgette, Maria, Maurice, Lina, Domenico Torcutti, Gérard Decelles and Denis LeGal.
Jeanne was born on June 24, 1938, and grew up in Ste Anne, MB, where her parents, Walter and Berthe (Sabourin) Lavack, ran the general store. Her youth provided many happy memories of helping to mind the store, putting on plays with her siblings, and taking care of the younger ones when needed.
She obtained her teaching certification at Manitoba Teacher's College in Winnipeg, and taught in La Broquerie, in Churchill, and at Archwood School in Winnipeg. She continued as a substitute teacher in La Broquerie's elementary and high schools for many years. Jeanne especially enjoyed teaching teenagers; her ability to engage them with her sense of humour made her a favourite among students.
She married Louis Balcaen on August 22, 1964 and settled on the third-generation Balcaen dairy farm north of La Broquerie, where they raised their three children.
Jeanne was very creative and loved learning different crafts such as knitting, sewing, painting, and cake decorating. The house was always full of her latest creations. She was an avid cook, and wrote “La cuisine de Jeanne,” a recipe column in the town newspaper, Le Papier de Chez Nous.
A highly spirited and sociable person, Jeanne loved to make people laugh. She often got together with friends and family and especially enjoyed day trips with her “Red Hats” group. With her husband Louis, she had many opportunities to travel the globe throughout her life. Jeanne was a woman of deep faith and an active member of her local Catholic church. Her involvement in the La Broquerie community spanned decades, and her generous spirit was felt by all.
The Balcaen and Lavack families wish to thank everyone for their love, prayers and support during this difficult time.
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Dear Balcaen and Lavack families and friends,
The funeral service for Jeanne Balcaen, who passed away on February 16, 2020, will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2020, at 11am at Église Saint-Joachim in La Broquerie, MB.
Due to COVID 19 restrictions, the number of available seats in the church is limited. In person attendance at the church is by invitation only.
We sincerely regret that we cannot accommodate all those who wish to attend in person.
However, you will be able to view the ceremony on line by visiting the parish website. This will be live-streamed, so please log on at 11am.
To view the ceremony, visit www.pstjoachim.ca and click on “ messe en ligne zoom “. Click on “join via alternate link “. This will open a new page that will allow you to access the live video stream. Enter your name (or your initials) in the
“your name “box, then click on “I’m not a robot “and “join “.
A new page will ask you to enter a password. Enter “7Yg4zC “and click “join “. Then click “join audio by computer “.
We thank you for your understanding and for all the messages of condolences and prayers we have received since Jeannes’ passing.
With warm regards,
Louis, Paul, Donald and Jo-Anne
