Obituary of Lydia Marie Therese Gaudet

Lydia Gaudet passed away at Mont St. Joseph in Prince Albert on May 25, 2024.  She was 98.  Lydia was devoted to her family, her parish, and her community.  She was an inspiration and a mentor to many, and we feel blessed to have had her in our lives for so long.

Mom was born in Bellevue on October 16, 1925 to Jean and Germaine Gaudet.  She was the first of nine children.  She had fond memories of her childhood, growing up with very little, but surrounded by loving parents and siblings.  She loved learning, and books and school.  Little surprise that she became a teacher.  At seventeen, she had her first teaching position in Cudworth, teaching 40 students from Grades 1 to 10.  She married Jean Camil Gaudet in the summer of 1947, and they settled on a quarter of land south of Bellevue.  They moved to town in 1954.  In 1958, she became the manager of the Bellevue Credit Union (La Caisse Populaire de Bellevue).  The salary was $1 a day and the office was located in our home. 

She was a master multi-tasker, juggling family, job, and community life.  Regardless of her many commitments, we children always felt that we were her first priority.  She always made time to help with homework, sew a new dress for a special occasion or host a birthday party for 8 rambunctious little boys.  Each of us held a hidden secret in our hearts – that we were the favorite child.

Mom loved gardening, flowers, and plants.  She was always looking for a new tomato variety, an earlier corn, a potato that keeps better.  And she loved her flowers, planting hundreds of gladiolus bulbs every year to decorate the church for Sunday mass.  On nice spring and summer mornings, we would find her walking in the garden, admiring a new bloom, checking on the progress of the vegetables, or waging war on bugs trying to steal her harvest.

In 2003, Mom received the award for “Citizen of the Year”.  This is what the community had to say about her:  She had a dream of a vibrant community, a French community, a community always changing and growing.  Lydia agreed to manage the Credit Union because it was good for the economic development of the village.  She volunteered with the Club d’Age d’Or  (Golden Age Club) because it was important for the cultural development of the community.  She was the parish secretary for 24 years because she was committed to  the spiritual development of the parish.  She tended the church flower beds to demonstrate the beauty that comes from God to all passersby.  But beyond her dedication to her community, Lydia always took care primarily of her family, nourishing them, not only with produce from her big garden, but also spiritually, teaching them her values, her language, her culture and her dreams.

Mom was a very pragmatic and sensible person.  When it came time to give up the family home, she felt strongly about finding the right buyer for the house.  She wanted her house to belong to a family who would be making Bellevue their permanent home, raising a family, and contributing to the community. 

She moved to the Foyer in 2009 and enthusiastically became assimilated in the day-to-day activities, especially gardening.  She was very happy there for over 10 years.

Mom is survived by her children Gerry (Cathy), Leo (Jacqueline Denis), Rosane (Vic) Langlois, Eveline (Kerry) Miner, Rick (Joanne), Pat (Barb); 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; her sister Nicole (Don Brooks), and brother Syl (Charlene); her in-laws Lucille, Helene, Yvette, and Gilles Tremblay (Monique);  as well as many nieces and nephews.  She was predeceased by her husband Jean Camil; her grandson Sean; her parents Jean and Germaine; her parents in-law Hector and Armandine; her brothers Ronald, Roger, Gilles, Fernand; and her sisters Roseline and Annette; all of Jean Camil’s brothers and sisters; as well as many many close friends and family members. 

Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at  St. Isidore-de-Bellevue Roman Catholic Church, Bellevue, SK.  Memorial donations can be made to the Bellevue Care Home https://www.bellevuecarehome.ca  Family and friends wishing to send online condolences are welcome to visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home and Crematorium, Marianne Turcotte, Funeral Director, Prince Albert, SK 306-763-3322.