Obituary of Marie Arams

OBITUARY: Marie Jeanne Julienne Arams, born and raised in Gravelbourg Saskatchewan, passed away on Sunday August 13, 2017, at the age of 99. She had hoped to hit 100. She really wanted to add that 100th birthday card to her collection. Marie was born on May 16, 1918, a few months before the end of the Great War. She was the youngest child of Charles and Célina Arams’ four children. (Predeceased by her brothers Albert, Roger and sister Emilie.) Her parents, originally from Charleroi, Belgium, homesteaded seven miles southwest of Gravelbourg. That farm remains in our family today. Like many children of her generation, Marie never finished her schooling, leaving after grade 10 to help out on the farm. She worked for many years, raising chickens, cows and horses. In 1944, at the age of 26, she gave birth to her son Laurent Arams in the upstairs bedroom of the family’s house on the homestead. It is a long and complicated story but she never married. Her daughter Lorraine was born eight years later in 1952. Single mothers were not common and not very accepted at that time. Thankfully her parents, Charles and Célina stood by her and helped raise Laurent and Lorraine. Grandma Marie was not always an easy person. She was as quick to smile as she was to anger. As quick to snub you as to give you gifts or offer you "des candies”. That unpredictable personality also made her unforgettable… there is something to be said for that. She never shied away from speaking her mind. No one got preferential treatment or deference from her. If you wanted her to like or respect you, she made you work for it - you had to earn it. Her life and her character reminded us all that we are imperfect. We can be hardest on those closest to us. Yet we can still love and be loved and even be loveable despite our shortcomings. Our relationships with her taught us to let go of slights and carry on. To accept others for who they are and not who we wish them to be. Repose en paix grand-maman Marie. On t’aime! Marie will be remembered by her son Laurent Arams and daughter Lorraine Arams, her grandchildren Michelle (Jules Chabot), Nicolle (Luc Lamoureux), Laurent Jr. (Cathy Smiley), Chantelle, Real (Michelle Gertz). Marie was great-grandma to Mercedes, Camden, Celina & Chanel Chabot, Danica, Sydney, Dylan & Seanna Auger, Nate & Willem Arams and Samuel & Éve Leclerc. The Arams family sincerely thanks all the staff and volunteers at the Foyer d’Youville and St. Joseph’s Hospital for their patience and kindness in caring for Marie over the last several years. We would also like to thank Mme Thérèse Hamon for her constant friendship and for the innumerable visits with Marie over the years. A memorial service was held for Marie on Friday, September 1, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Co-Cathedral. A reception followed at the Gravelbourg Parish Hall. Interment Gravelbourg Roman Catholic Cemetery. The family would like to express their sincere thanks for your many expressions of kindness and thoughtful gestures given to Marie during her stay at the Foyer d’Youville and to our family during this time. NECROLOGIE: La famille Arams a le regret de vous annoncer le décès de Marie Jeanne Julienne Arams, décédée le 13 août, à l’âge de 99 ans. Marie est née le 16 mai 1918, la benjamine des quatre enfants de Charles et Célina Arams. (Elle fut prédécédée par ses frères Albert et Roger et sa soeur Émilie.) Ses parents ont émigré de Charleroi en Belgique pour établir un ‘homestead’ sur une terre à 11 km au sud-ouest de Gravelbourg. Marie a quitté l’école après la dixième année et a travaillé pendant plusieurs années à la ferme familiale. En 1944, a l’âge de 26 ans, elle a donné naissance a son fils Laurent Arams. Huit ans plus tard, sa fille Lorraine est née. Les mères-célibataires n’étaient pas très acceptées à cette époque mais heureusement, ses parents l’ont aidée à élever ses enfants. Il faut dire que Marie n’était pas toujours une personne facile. Elle aimait rire et ricanner mais elle pouvait aussi s’impatienter et se fâcher rapidement. Elle pouvait être très dure avec ses plus proches. Malgré son humeur volatile on l’aimait tous, chacun à notre façon. Elle nous a appris qu’on peut aimer et être aimé sans être parfait. Repose en paix grand-maman Marie. On t’aime! Marie laisse dans le deuil son fils Laurent Arams et sa fille Lorraine Arams, ses petits-enfants: Michelle (Jules Chabot), Nicolle (Luc Lamoureux), Laurent Jr. (Cathy Smiley), Chantelle, Real (Michelle Gertz) et ses arrière-petits-enfants: Mercedes, Camden, Célina & Chanel Chabot., Danica, Sydney, Dylan & Seanna Auger, Nate & Willem Arams et Samuel & Éve Leclerc. La famille Arams tient á remercier tout le personnel du Foyer d’Youville et de l’Hôpital St. Joseph pour leur patience, leur gentillesse et les soins qu’ils ont donnés à Marie Arams pendant plusieurs années. On aimerait aussi remercier Mme Thérèse Hamon, son amie de longue date, pour son amitié constante et les nombreuses fois, au fils des années, pendant lesquelles elle a passé du temps avec elle. Un service commémoratif a eu lieu le vendredi 1er septembre à 14:00 à la Co-Cathédrale Notre Dame de l’Assomption à Gravelbourg, suivi par une réception à la salle paroissiale. Inhumée au cimetière de Gravelbourg. Nous avons beaucoup apprécié le témoignage de votre fraternelle sympathie, et d’avoir participé à notre espérance chrétienne.