Good morning, colleagues. On October 3rd, 2024, God called home one of his angels Marie Lou Pineda Leguerrier. She passed away at her home in Fort Smith surrounded by her husband, family, and friends. Marie was born on April 17th, 1957, in the Philippines.
I first met her at the Northern Lights Special Care Home in Fort Smith when I went to visit some of the residents and some of her colleagues. I observed this lady walking fast but once she got to where she needed to be, especially with the elders, she became so patient and worked only at their speed and ability. She treated them with the utmost respect, compassion, and empathy. When I spoke to the residents about her, they talked about how caring she was and how she made it a point to get know their family, not just them. They would tell me she was their advocate and stood up for them.
About seven years ago, I got to meet her again. This time through Grace. Grace spoke very highly of her and considered her one of her best friends.
As I got to know her, she had an amazing career. She was a chemical engineer by trade and worked at an asphalt company in the Philippines. In 1987, she went to work in Hong Kong as a domestic worker for a couple of years. Then she moved to Edmonton but a short period later, she moved to Inuvik, NWT, to become one of the supervisors at Grollier Hall.
This is where Marie met her future husband Yves. She tells a cool story of how they met. She overheard Yves talking to a new co-worker about the need for some good winter boots, but the person didn't have any. So Yves gave him the boots. This was the start of their relationship. After the Grollier Hall shut down, she moved to Fort Smith, NWT, and married Yves in 1997.
Marie learned to bake, cook, make jam and jelly and can vegetables by cooking with her mother-in-law, as well as borrowing books from the library and later using the internet. She would give most of her baking to others, especially the residents and colleagues at Northern Lights Special Care. She loved to travel the world, and the last trip she took off her bucket list was the East Coast of Canada in July 2024 with a few of her close friends. Even though she was very weak, she endured and loved her last vacation.
They had a Celebration of Life at Northern Lights. A good friend of her, Gladys Rehm, did an amazing job celebrating her life. I have added it to my Celebration of Life and would like it deemed as read and printed in Hansard. Marie is going to be missed by us all, especially her husband Yves. They would like to thank everybody for their support during this difficult time.
Marie Lourdes Pineda Leguerrier
Born April 17,1957 in Iloilo city, Phillipines to Isidro Pineda and Brigida Corsiga. She has two brothers and two sisters. Her primary education was at a Catholic school and secondary at San Jose College.
She attended the University of San Agustin and got a degree in Chemical Engineering. She worked in asphalt and cement and then as a soil analyst in Hong Kong and a nanny as well.
She immigrated to Canada in 1989 and her first home was in Inuvik NT working as a Supervisor at Grolier Hall.
It was in Inuvik in 1991 she met Yves. They met in a bar. Yup a bar. She was there with her friends, and she overheard a guy (Yves) at the next table. He was talking to a guy who had come from the south and was not equipped with proper footwear for our northern winters. Yves said to him "l have a pair of winter boot you can have". Marie observed the kindness of this guy to just to give someone boots so they wouldn't be cold. She thought to herself, he must be a nice guy. That was the beginning of their story together.
Marie moved with Yves to Fort Smith in 1996.
She became a Canadian citizen in July of that same year.
Marie and Yves were married April 19, 1997, with Wade Johnson as best man and Angela Marsh as maid of honor.
Marie took the Care Aide course at the Arctic College and started her career working at the Fort Smith hospital and then moving over to Northern Lights Special Care Home.
She cared for dozens if not a couple hundred Elders over her 25 years. Marie did not see skin color, she treated them all with the utmost respect, compassion, empathy, and the very best care. She got to know the families, who was related to whom. She laughed with them, cried with them, and mourned them when they passed on and even than thinking "what more could we have done for them". She was generous with kind and encouraging words sprinkled with humour. She shared her love of cooking and baking, often bringing in a special dish for an Elder she knew they liked. The staff also benefited from her delicious food.
At work there was and understanding amongst the Aides "SHE DA BOSS"
In a Good way. She had this walk/run and with her long legs we literally had to run to keep up to her. But with the Elders she was so patient and worked only to their speed and abilities. She advocated for the Elders and challenged a few of the "bosses" of the day to "do the right thing for the Elders". She also gave freely of her time outside of work hours. Volunteering at Northern Lights for special occasions or shopping for items the Elders needed.
She orientated dozens of Care Aides including myself. If they didn't get it, it wasn’t because she didn't teach them. She had a no-nonsense way of getting things done. Tasks and Elder care were done in unison and to the highest standard. Except beds, she detested making beds, saying "there are more important things to do". Some of us would make deals with her. We would make her beds and she would trade us a task.
She also didn't believe in ironing uniforms or anything else. We would tease her as she came on shift pulling at her top to "straighten it out a bit". Saying to her "Marie, 25 cents for every time you come to work with a wrinkled uniform" she would just laugh and say, "here's 10 bucks for the week".
Now her handwriting was something else. It was a true mystery to figure out. Many times, having to ask her "what does this say"? After a while we could decipher it though. We teased her saying "you write like a doctor". She wrote like she walked...... just fast.
When she wasn't at work Marie enjoyed cooking her special phillipino dishes or baking some of her regulars like breads, pop overs and cinnamon buns (she made the best ones). She enjoyed experimenting with new recipes and making jam from her fruit trees. Her favorite foods were her country foods and chocolate (with a huge supply on hand at home and at work).
She always made time for her friends. She gathered weekly with her phillipino friends for a meal. Then they would watch their favorite Korean dramas together. Marie had friends all over the world. She got calls texts and Facetime calls from so many over the past couple months which she really appreciated.
A small group of us coworkers came together as friends. We called ourselves The Northern Lights Nutcakes and later shortened to just Nutcakes. We had the best times together gathering at one of our homes. Laughing, storytelling, dancing eating and often strategizing work situations to help improve our Elders care. We always ended each one praying together. We took several smaller trips together including Hay River, Yellowknife (to visit one of our previous NL Elders) and Canmore. Our most recent trip was to Nova Scotia for 2 weeks this past July. We experienced so many places and things together and things just fell into place for us throughout the trip. Yves said he was glad we went ‘cause that was her "Bucket List" trip.
Marie was a good listener and thought a long time before answering. She loved a good joke, video, or story, adding her own little quip to it. She also enjoyed reading, gardening and online shopping for the latest kitchen gadgets or shoes.
Oh, my goodness how she loved her shoes. I found this out one day at work. Yves had called telling her their hot water heater was leaking and was flooding into the house. Marie ran out the door to check out the situation. She came back and I asked her how it was. She said, "Well it flooded the hardwood floors somewhat, but all my shoes are okay". She was worried about her shoes stored under the bed.... Not the floors. Yes, Marie had quite a collection. I later found out it was because as a kid they often did without shoes.
Marie travelled extensively over the years both with Yves and her sisters. She said she road a camel and an elephant adding the camel is way more stubborn. We laughed and noted we are sometimes like camels. Yes, she could be stubborn but lived by her morals and values and advocating for those less fortunate or could not speak for themselves.
Yves was the love of her life. They spent their time together doing things like snowshoeing, skidooing, fishing, quading, boating, berry picking, gardening, travelling, and spending time at their cabin. She and Yves would make Christmas cakes and deliver them to Elders at the home and around town. Apparently with lots of brandy in them.
Yves has been by her side including her battle with cancer, doing whatever he could to make her journey as easy as possible. Many trips to Edmonton and Yellowknife and then setting up their home to accommodate Marie's wish to be at home until the end. He welcomed her sisters and her friends into their home daily for the last 2 months. We are so thankful for this.
Marie was in her own home, listening to the familiar sounds and smells of the cooking she loved from her homeland. There was much laughter, storytelling, praying and dancing, yes even dancing. There were tears and heartfelt conversations as well. Often comfortable silence was all that was needed. We are truly thankful for this sacred time together.
Her sisters Ping and Cora were her best friends. Their nickname for Marie was "Ni Ning". Marie being the oldest and the matriarch of the family was highly respected. She spent time with them, going to the beach, fruit picking, travelling and bird hunting. I did not know she could handle a gun, good thing I stayed on the good side of her. Her sisters came to visit as often as they could. When they heard Marie was palliative they flew here as soon as they could. For the past 2 months they took care of cooking, cleaning, hosting friends of Marie's and of course her every need. They wanted to make her last weeks’ worry-free. Marie appreciated everything they did for her. Knowing that they would be with her till the end brought her great comfort.
Marie always considered her nieces and nephews like her own children. Children and grandkids of her friends and coworkers were always a source of joy for her. Keeping up with their lives, celebrating their achievements and welcoming new babies (she loved to pinch their cheeks). Always quick to connect with the little ones and watching them grow up in the community. Attending many graduations celebrating their success. Giving little ones advice like "you help your Mommy" or “be kind to your brothers and sisters". As they grew, telling them things like 'you are so smart" or "you are very kind" or "you can do anything if you work hard at it". Praying for them when they needed it or upon request. She was an Aunty to many children in this sense including my granddaughters.
Marie was strong in her faith and never waivered in her belief that the Lord would take care of her. She had the longest prayer list, and her rosary was never far from her. It was this faith that brought her 5 extra years of being here with us. For that we are truly thankful.
She walked in a good way on this earth.
Marie passed away in her home surrounded by her family and friends. We loved her and were blessed to have had her in our lives and she will be truly missed. Now she is flying with the Angels and has a place in the Masters Bouquet.
Rest easy my friend.
On behalf of her husband Yves, family and friends, we would like to thank everyone for coming today.
