GERARD NOEL CLOUTIER

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GERARD NOEL CLOUTIER September 22, 1921 April 16, 2008. Peacefully, and after a lengthy illness, my dad passed away Wednesday evening. He was a cool dad. The type who bought the entire team ice cream after a win or loss. A man you respected because he was honest, kind and dedicated to family and friends. Gerry loved his sons Donald, Curtis-Paul and me, Richard; his daughters-in-law Cheryl and Susan; his grand children Ainsley, Meagan and Evan and most of all he loved his beautiful wife, Angela. She was the woman of his dreams, right to the day he died. Mom was a school teacher in St. Claude, Manitoba. She was sitting on a stool at a local restaurant when he came in for coffee and piece of raisin pie. Dad was working for Beaumont Construction clearing bush in the area. He was smitten. He asked her for a telephone number. She wrote it down, thinking he wouldn't be around much longer. But there was something about the jet black hair and a smile that lit up a room that hooked her. Chemistry. They were married in 1951 and moved to a small house in St. Norbert next to his service station Cloutier Motors. This was before self-serve. Dad loved cars and the people who drove them. I have fond memories of going on tow jobs with him as a kid. We would spend the day boosting dead batteries and towing cars from the ditch. When someone couldn't pay he would tow them anyway. You never know when you'll be hard on your luck, he would tell me. He retired from the garage in the late 1970s but continued to putter with cars. Dad's life was not without tragedy. His eldest son, Donald, was killed in an automobile collision at age 16 in 1968. It redefined him as a husband and father, always watching and worrying about his children and then grandchildren. Humor was good medicine in these troubled times. He could lighten the mood with a joke or story. He always spoke fondly of his brothers and sisters - all 15 of them. Put them together in a room and wow, what harmony. A family dedicated to each other and the legacy of their parents, Gabriel and Lumina Cloutier. With Dad gone to Heaven they are now 11. Dad's voice will always be heard. He taught me to listen, to work hard and to always count your blessings. The family will be together this Monday, April 21, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Vital Parish Catholic Church, 1629 Pembina Highway. Mass will be celebrated by Father Patrick Morand. Coffee, sweets, stories and maybe even raisin pie will follow in the adjacent foyer. Over the past few years Dad had a tray of medication carefully coordinated by his trusted physician, Dr. Frank Salem. His bedside manner is second to none. The nursing and support staff of the fourth floor at Victoria General Hospital were fantastic and our deepest thanks go out to them. He was the model patient for the last nine weeks and they treated him with kindness and dignity. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. With love and fondest memories, Richard

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 19, 2008