The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Renee Lyons of the Northern Lights Manor passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 12, 2005 at the age of 89 years. A Remembrance of Renee Lyons Mom was born on April 4, 1916 to proud parents George Emmond and Renee Ethel (Stanford). She was the second oldest child with a sister Ellen arriving a year earlier. To follow were her sister Mary, her twin brothers Jimmy and Johnny, and some years later another set of twin brothers, George and Dick. One of the youngest twin brothers, Dick, died as a child from a yet to be conquered disease, appendicitis. Life on the farm in those days could be very harsh. Mom's parents were immigrants from England who came to Canada to settle on free land that was offered in the Swan Valley area. They soon established a farm in an area known as Thunder Hill, a small "mountain on the plain" near the townsite of Benito, in the Swan River Valley. As time went on, Mom's sisters left home to become educated as teachers, while Mom stayed to assist with the busy tasks of running a farm and helping her parents care for the younger brothers. Mom met her husband to be - George - during her latter time on the farm. Due to the hard times of the Depression following the First World War, Dad went north to find work in the mining area known to us as Flin Flon. Dad worked doing little jobs here and there until he managed to land a job with HBMS and that set the stage to allow him to support a wife and raise a family. Mom was then "requested to visit" and very soon afterwards on April 20, 1940, a wedding took place. Two children, Brian and Elsa, blessed the marriage and became the start of our family. Due to the changing world Mom and Dad were living in, Dad honoured the call to war and spent several years away in support of that effort. Here is a paragraph from a letter Dad wrote to Mom in 1945 while he was away. "I come around a couple of times a year, and then disappear. It's a heck of a life for you too, a wife shouldn't have to be separated from her husband. You know sometimes I think the wives that stay home faithful to their men are the ones that should get the medals, not the soldiers. They (the wives) fight a battle every day, lonely and monotonous and if they get browned off, there isn't much they can do about it. We can always go on a rampage and drown our sorrows... I miss you so darn much. I am lonesome even when I am out with a crowd. I guess this marriage must be a great institution when it keeps us bound together even when we are a couple of thousand miles apart. Actually we are never apart because you are always in my heart." After the war ended, Mom and Dad once again returned to the normal events of family. They were one of the fortunate families to buy one of the new houses in the Willowvale area being built by HBMS to provide for the war veterans. Richard and Robert were added to the family, at generous intervals. The four of us and our families are proud to sit here today to honour and celebrate the life of our mother, Renee. Renee was a member of the Catholic church and the CWL and was a Scout leader. She was predeceased by her husband George; brothers Dick, Jim and John; and daughter-in-law Eileen. She is survived by her sisters Mary (Len) of Calgary and Ellen (Walter) of Saskatoon; brother George (Marina) of Sydney, BC; sons Brian of Sudbury, Richard (Lois) of Winnipeg and Robert (Barbara) of Flin Flon; grandchildren Tal, Tammy, Tara - Todd, Christein, Chad, Nicole, Michelle, Colin, Shauna, Jim; great grandchildren Amanda, Jennifer, Rebecca, Matther, Jessica, Eric, Jeremy, Marissa, Brittany, Johnathon, Jeffrey and Breanna. Prayers for Renee were held Thursday, June 16, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. from the Chapel of Dadson Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial was held Friday, June 17, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. from St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, with Father Denis Bourbonnais as Celebrant. Organist was Heather French, with soloist Lois Watson Lyons. Active pallbearers were all of Renee's grandchildren. Honourary pallbearers were the ladies of the CWL. Memorial register attendants were Heather Lofgren and Marissa O'Brien. Following interment at Hillside Cemetery, the CWL served a lunch at St. Ann's Parish Hall. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made to the Northern Lights Manor, 274 Bracken Street, Flin Flon, Manitoba R8A 1P4. Dadson Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements. The family sincerely thanks the NLM staff and volunteers, Dr. Blom and FFGH staff, Dadson Funeral Home, Father Denis and the CWL ladies, and the staff at Dadson Funeral Home for your caring, help and support.12/8/05
