JULES SYLVES MOURANT

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JULES SYLVES MOURANT

Jules Sylves Mourant, fondly remembered as Julie / Jake / Dad / Bear / Grandpa / Papa, was born on January 16, 1934, in Rosewood, Manitoba. Living in Winnipeg at the time of his passing, Jules began his next life’s journey on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at 1:30 in the morning.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 68 years, Lucille, their children, Nancy (Adam), Terri (Ken), Michael (Holly), Kenneth (Fiona), Drew as well as grandchildren, Vanessa (Guillaume), Max (Sari), Kacey (Matt), Chet (Katlyn), Wade (Arielle), Jonathan, Ryan,Wynn plus great-grandchildren, Olivier, Hugo, Maya and Beau.

Jules was a central figure in the history of the milk industry in Manitoba, taking to the roads September 1, 1954, at the age of 19. Along with his partner, John Mayer, and later his brother Noel Mourant, they purchased several milk routes, including Rosewood Transfer in 1972, an original route and company founded in 1928 by Jules and Noel’s father, Eugene. In 1975, the company split, with Jules retaining Rosewood Bulk Milk Hauling and Noel naming his portion M&M Bulk Milk Service. Moving from traditional milk cans to bulk milk hauling, we are a milk family, throughout many generations.

To narrow down memories of a man with a soul as big as life itself, seems an immeasurable task. One can think of the extraordinary adventures he took with his wife, Lucille, nights sat by a fire in the woods telling lies, learning to water-ski and snow-ski, how to eat ‘Billy Cookies’ correctly, or teaching us how to fillet our first big catch. With every moment spent together he taught us how to both work hard and play hard.

Just as he held many of us, as a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, there is peace in knowing that in the end he was never alone. With a guard of fierce love surrounding him right to the very end, we now have comfort knowing he has found his quiet in the arms of Angels, as he journeys as an ancestor across the plains, and lives on in all of our memories.

We carry on with an unwavering love in our hearts - a love that weathered storms, withstood tests of time, and valued integrity and care for others, above all. He helped us grow strong just like the trees he planted at the farm, so diligently, giving us roots and a place to call home, wherever we might be in this vast world.

May he hear the wind rustle through the silver poplars, see the golden wheat blow in the fields, feel the Prairie sun on his face, and smell the rich earth on his hands, always.

“I’ve lain on the prairie and

heard grasses sigh,

I’ve stared at the vast open bowl

of the  sky.

If you’re not from the prairie,

you can’t know my soul,

The wind, the sky and earth, the storms and the snow.

Best say you have -

and then we’ll be one,

For we will have shared that same blazing sun."

David Bourchard’s “If You’re Not from the Prairie.”

Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Life will be planned in the future. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the charity of your choice in Jules’ honour if you wish.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 20, 2024, Apr 20, 2024