VACHON, Claire Ida Marie (Nee Carriere)
On June 20, 2007, Claire Vachon passed away peacefully
after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 63 years.
She is survived by her husband and soulmate Gerard,
Mother Irma Carriere, daughter Cheryl (Anthony) Charabin,
son Terry (Christine) Vachon, son Andre (Faith) Vachon,
son Shawn Vachon, daughter Kim (Jesse) Wong, son Denis
(Alexandra); eighteen grandchildren, Justin, Angela,
Jeanelle (Leon), Stephanie, Lisa, Ashley (Shawn), Thomas,
Jonathan, Logan, Devan, Meagan, Kayla, Zachary, William,
Cassia, Jacob, Celine and Marcel; six great-grandchildren,
Blair, Elora, Payton, Aden, Deacon and Austin.
She is also survived by her sister Denise (Willie) Sawchuk,
brother Joe (Shirley), sister Maggie (Henry) Laliberte,
sister Dianne Carriere, sister Sue (Al) Fraser, sister
Claudette (Bruce) Holm, brother Emile Carriere, brother
Pat (Barb) Carriere, sister Monique (Don) MacDonald,
sister Donalda (Marcel) Potvin, sister Adrienne Carriere,
sister Janet (Brian) Nash as well as numerous Aunts, Uncles,
Nieces and Nephews and Extended Family.
Mom was predeceased by her Father Ephrem Carriere, and
her sisters Estelle (Clive) Omond and Rachael Carriere, and
a nephew who was very special to her, Jeremy Wilkenson.
At Mom's request, there will be no Formal Service. Cremation
has taken place. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to
the Cross Cancer Clinic and/or Stars Air Ambulance c/o
10004 - 105 Street, Westlock, AB T7P 1V2.
Westlock Funeral Home Ltd. 780-349-3474
Mom's Story Mom was born on August 11, 1943 at home in the
small town of San Clara, Manitoba. She is the eldest child of
Ephrem and Irma Carriere, in a group of 15 children that we
lovingly called the herd.
Mom grew up and went to school in the small community up
until she reached grade seven. She skipped grade eight and
then went to Radville Saskatchewan, where she was sent to
join the Sisters of Charity in the hopes that she would become
a nun. She soon found that this wasn't her calling, and with the
help of her Auntie Lil, she moved on to the Notre Dame
College. She stayed there until she had completed over half
of her grade eleven. At this point in her life, she decided that
school wasn't for her, and that if she returned home, she
would put an extra burden on her Mom and Dad and the rest
of her siblings. She struck out on her own on, an incredible
journey that would see her blessed with children and
eventually meet and marry her soul mate. Mom took a stab at
clerking, book keeping, and other jobs that came her way, but
they weren't for her. She took a job cooking in a diner, and
this is where she found her calling. She was on her way to
becoming the chef eventually was. About this time in her life,
she entered into a relationship, and eventually married Gene,
and four children were the result. Cheryl was her first born,
followed by myself Terry, then Shawn, and finally Kim.
Nothing was more important to Mom than her kids. Mom
struggled on for thirteen years in this relationship before
finally calling it quits. In this period of her life, she gave up
lots of her own dreams and goals, and worked herself
nearly to death trying to make sure that she could provide for
us kids. The end of this relationship was the turning point in
Moms life. She met, fell in love, and married her soul mate
for life, my Dad Gerard. The connection between the two of
them was electric, right to the end. Our family also gained
two brothers, Andre and Denis, and it seemed that my Mom's
life was complete.
Mom and Dad had many adventures in life. From running
their own business's to cooking up in camps in the Arctic, to
taking a stab at hobby farming, they were together. If they
were separated for any length of time, my Mom would want
to know what he was up too, and it had better not be making
soup.
Through the years our family has had its share of troubles,
and my Mom was always the rock that was there to hold us
together. When Shawn was involved in a major accident, my
Mom was there at the University of Alberta Hospital every
day for months on end willing him to get better and return to
his two little girls. When Mom was diagnosed with cancer
in 2002, her biggest concern at the time was to prepare for
the eventuality that she wasn't going to be around to look
after my Dad. She wasn't worried about herself, but more
about Dad. She went through some pretty hard bouts of
chemo and radiation, to try and combat the disease, and she
would never complain or show her family how much pain
she was in. She did this to protect my Dad and us kids. She
always put her family ahead of herself. Mom put up a great
fight, but she fought her last battle this morning.
Surrounded by her family, she opened her eyes one last time,
smiled, and went on to be with Papere, Mamere, Grandpa,
Rachael, Estelle and Jeremy at 01:30 June 20, 2007. Mom
touched the lives of many people, and she will remain in
our hearts and memories forever.
Published in the Edmonton Journal on 6/23/2007.