JESSIE PELLETIER - FONTAINE

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JESSIE PELLETIER - FONTAINE Peacefully on March 23, 2009 our mother and Koko passed away surrounded by her loved ones at the Melville District Health Centre, SK. Traditional wake services were held in her home community, Cowessess First Nation on March 25 - 26, 2009. As per her wishes, she was transported by train to Winnipeg, MB where wake services will be held on Friday, March 27, 2009 between 6:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. Funeral services and feast will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Both will be held at the Glen Lawn Funeral Home, 455 Lagimodiere Blvd. Winnipeg. Cremation will follow. Our Mom was born on October 10, 1939 on the Cowessess First Nation, SK to Joseph Norbert Lerat and Hilda Pelletier. She attended the Lebret and Muscoweguan Indian Residential Schools. Always ambitious, she moved to Winnipeg to work in health care before embarking on a long career in education as a teacher. When she moved to Winnipeg, she met the love of her life, our father and Papa, Elmer Joseph Fontaine, who she married in 1960 and remained with until his passing in 1990. In those wonderful years together, they were blessed with three daughters, seven sons, 27 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, not to mention the countless others they opened their home to. Kindness, generosity, devotion, and determination were the hallmarks of her life and she accepted her health issues and final diagnoses with courage and dignity. Prior to her passing, she many times spoke glowingly of the many students she taught and loved over the years and the many days she spent living and teaching in various communities, primarily in northern Manitoba. Our mom had a spirit that drew others to her and she treasured the many friendships she had formed over the years. These friends were a very important part of her life and she remained in close contact with them. She leaves to mourn her sisters, Gladys Pelletier of Victoria, BC, Doris Cyr of Fort Qu'Appelle, SK, Joyce Pelletier (Walter) of Bangor, SK, and brother Richard Pelletier (Bernice) of Prince Albert, SK; daughters, Rhonda Pelletier (Gilbert) of Regina, SK, Tracy Fontaine of Melville, SK and Lanette Fontaine-Wood (Larry) of Manitogotan, MB; sons, EJ Fontaine (Eva), Fabian Fontaine, Monty Fontaine (Ricky-Ann), Dale Fontaine (Kim), Jamie Fontaine (Naomi) and Tim Fontaine, all of Winnipeg, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Elmer; sons, Dwayne Fontaine and Todd Berens; great-grandson Ryder, as well as her parents Joseph Norbert Lerat and Hilda Pelletier; her mother-in-law Agnes Fontaine and father-in-law Jean-Baptiste Fontaine, as well as her sisters, Yvonne Delorme, Bertha Dyck; brothers, Victor Pelletier, Edward Pelletier and Sidney Pelletier. Special thanks to the doctors and nurses at Melville District Health Centre for the excellent care that they provided our mom. Thanks also to the staff at ward 3F Regina General Hospital, Elder Isadore Pelletier, and to the many friends, family and former students and co-workers who visited with her or called to wish her well. Our heartfelt thanks to the Cowessess First Nation for welcoming her back home and sending her on to her final journey. We love you mom and will cherish your memory, stories, and teachings always.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 27, 2009