Obituary of Maurice Francois Conan

CONAN – Mr. Maurice 1937-2013 My sister Lauren Conan and I, Michelle Conan, and would like to share some memories of our grandfather. To us and the rest of the family, he was known as Pépé, a French word for grandpa. He was born on March 11, 1937 to Francois and Anna Conan. Pépé began his life as a premature baby weighing only 2.5 pounds. He was born in the farmhouse northwest of Marcelin because there was no time to get to the hospital. Because he was so little, he was kept in a little basket lined with cotton batten on the outside of the wood stove door, the warmest place in the house. As a young boy, he was kept busy on the farm helping out his dad. When he was sick, his mom was always ready with the mustard plaster. He received his elementary schooling at Marcelin School with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. He then attended Gravelbourg College with the Missionary Oblates, a boy’s college, beginning in Grade 7. He enjoyed many activities at Gravelbourg, including roller skating, tennis, and hockey. Pépé stayed in Gravelbourg until Grade 9, at which time he returned home for one year. It was then that he taught his two older sisters, Yvette and Lil, how to roller skate. He only remembered to teach them how to stop after Lil ran into a fence. His parents thought he was having too much fun at home, so he returned to Gravelbourg for high school. He continued his education there, culminating with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa. He married Toni Goueffic, our Mémé, in 1957. Together they spent many hours working on the farm and raising their family. Mémé prepared many meals to take to the field during harvest. She also organized food, buses, and fundraising for all of Pépé’s hockey teams. Together they went to Expo in Montreal in 1967 and took many whirlwind trips to Jasper. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2007. They had three children: two sons, Francois and Guy, and one daughter, Nicole, the first Poupette, which means doll in French. He spent a lot of time with them. Whenever he had grain to haul, the kids would go with him to give Mémé a holiday, as she would say. Pépé often read the newspaper in the little bedroom off of the kitchen, and his three kids would end up sitting in there with him as they waited for supper, all four of them squished into the smallest room of the house. They also spent lots of time in the backyard, swimming in the pool. Auntie Nicole remembers being sent to clean it in 53°F water, which was before they had a pool vacuum and a heater. Pépé taught Auntie Nicole how to drive a standard, first “three on the tree” and then to double clutch on his ’53 Mercury three-ton truck, better known as Betsy. He was a very patient teacher, but only taught her how to use the brakes when she almost hit her brother Guy and the combine. When the boys got older, they worked in the field with him, often doing more harm than good. They also remember being invited to go on “little drives” for “big talks,” which meant they were in trouble. Pépé started farming at the age of 21 upon the death of his father. Farming was his passion. No matter the task, he was always using Massey Ferguson equipment. He proudly worked his land, enjoying all aspects of this entrusted to his care by the Heavenly Father. The crops at Dugan’s were especially noted with due care so that his beloved whooping cranes would have an easier time to land and walk about. He actively took part in the farm until the fall of 2012, when he ran his combine, a Massey 9690, for 5 hours per day. For 30 years he worked the winters for the Department of Social Services in Yorkton, Moose Jaw, and Prince Albert. He was very fortunate to continue farming during his career. He enjoyed his job very much and made many good friends. Pépé was also community minded. He was a Board member for the Blaine Lake Division Board, the Marcelin Rink committee, the Marcelin Board of Trade, the Marcelin Town Council, and the Marcelin Housing Authority. He also loved to sing. He did this at many funerals. He also sang for community events, for special church events, and for the Midnight Mass Choir, for which many members will remember the saying, “What’s my note?” He coached hockey for 23 years starting with the Mighty Mites and graduating to the Junior B Knights. He sometimes coached four or five teams at once. Because of some excellent hockey friends who would pack up the equipment, he was able to make trips to Paradise Hill from Prince Albert for the opening face off. There were many exciting times on the bus to go to provincial games, and many exciting times at the Marcelin Arena. The men he coached remember his continual generosity and the unique way he taped hockey sticks. When Pépé wasn’t working, he liked to spend time with his grandchildren: three boys, Marc, Andrew, and Mitchel, and four Poupettes, Megan, Michelle, Laura, and Lauren. He also liked to relax in his swimming pool, where he spent many hours. It was here that he taught many of his grandchildren to swim. He especially liked to cannonball into the pool with all of his grandkids screaming and splashing around him. We fondly remember diving for the loonies he threw in the pool. After everyone was dried off, he would take us somewhere for tons of ice cream. He would also take us for rides where everyone would have to sing, especially “Oh, a hunting we will go!” Megan remembers riding in the truck with Pépé while her Uncle Guy was burning stubble. Pépé had to drive close to the flames. From then on Megan always believed that she had the most amazing grandpa in the world because he could drive through fire. We spent many hours with Pépé in the combine as well as watching him play Mario Brothers on Nintendo 64. We will always know him as the best player ever! It wasn’t all fun and games for the boys though. Marc and Andrew remember working for Pépé at the farm, painting and cleaning his beloved bins. Apparently they began work early in the morning and spent the day in the hot sun, although rumour has it that they would be in the pool by noon. Christmas time was always one of Pépé’s favourites. We will never forget the many boxes and boxes and boxes of chocolates that were ready for us to eat. The chocolates were followed by glasses of milk, which were topped up after every sip. As we grew up, the milk switched to champagne, a tradition that we will continue each Christmas. We will also cherish each collector coin that we received from him. Christmas will not be the same without him. Another one of Pépé’s favourite pastimes was to go crop checking, sometimes twice a day. When he would get back to the house, he’d complain that the crops weren’t growing much! He also enjoyed collecting coins and hockey cards, reading, making puzzles, playing Solitaire and Kaiser, and watching sports. He was an avid fan of the Montreal Canadians, Toronto Blue Jays, and Saskatchewan Roughriders. If they had listened to his armchair coaching, they would have won every game! Pépé had asthma most of his life. The first heart attack happened in 1978 followed by a quadruple bypass surgery some 20 years later. Diabetes followed along with arthritis. His health began to fail in 2012 until he succumbed to all of this at 5pm on July 6th at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon surrounded by family. Pépé, we are thankful for the good work ethic that you instilled in all of us. Your generosity and dedication to family and community set a great example and will always be remembered. We will miss bringing supper to you in the field during harvest and will never forget the loving sound of your whole-hearted laughter. We hope that if there are no Massey Combines to pick up the heavenly crops, that our Lord will get you one. We all love you very much and will think of you always. Maurice is lovingly survived by his wife Toni Conan, his children, Francois (Joanne) Conan; Guy (Janet) Conan; & Nicole Conan. His grandchildren Marc Conan, Andrew Conan, Michelle Conan, Lauren Conan, Megan Robin, Laura Robin and Mitchel Robin. His sister, Lillian (Erwin) Stefner. Maurice was predeceased by his parents, Frank & Anna Conan; his sister Yvette Davis; his in-laws, Emmanuel & Toni Gouëffic. The Mass of Christian Burial for Maurice took place on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 11:00a.m. from the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Marcelin, with Father Tru Lee & Father Ramel Macapala as Celebrants. Interment will take place at a later date. Memorial donations may be made in memory of Maurice to the choice of the donor. Emailed condolences sent to www.beaulacfuneralhome.com will be forwarded to the family. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Beau”Lac” Funeral Home, Tammy Smart, Director, 306-747-2828.