HENRI HUBERT RIVOALEN

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HENRI HUBERT RIVOALEN Peacefully on December 4, 2011, at 84, Henri succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the St. Boniface General Hospital. He was there just ten days; his final struggle was mercifully brief. Henri was predeceased by: his wife of 55 years, Marie (nee Gérardy); his parents, Marie-Anne (nee Bizien) and François-Marie; and siblings Elie, Germaine, Jean, Etienne, Jean-Pierre, Germaine, Etienne, Denis, François and Noël. Left to cherish his memory are: his son Carl (Wendy Mudry) and daughter Marianne (William Emslie); siblings Joseph, Marie and Eliane; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and friends spread throughout France, Canada, England, Holland and Mexico. Henri was born on July 1, 1927, in Plabennec, Finistère, France. The Rivoalen family had by then lived in Brittany for centuries, and long before it was united with France. Henri's parents farmed land in Plabennec that was owned by Rivoalens for almost as long. His first language was Breton, the Celtic language still spoken in Brittany today. He learned French in school, and later English, but he was neither at heart. Henri was a proud Breton. He celebrated the language, music, geography, cuisine and culture of Brittany intermittently throughout his life, especially when visiting or receiving relatives and other countrymen. He did not, however, master the art of the Breton galette, as several unfortunate neighbours and friends came to discover when presented with his nearly inedible crepes. After deciding to leave his parents' well populated family farm, Henri set off for distant Canada and landed in Halifax in 1951. Blessed with a strong personality and an adventurous spirit, he was the only one of his siblings who took up permanent residence outside of France. He made his way West and settled ultimately in Manitoba, where he was at perfect ease with the local francophone community and where he encountered a number of Breton expatriates. While living in St. Boniface he met his beloved Marie Gérardy, whom he married in Montreal on May 1, 1954. Henri worked in different capacities and in different places until he acquired sufficient funds to purchase sections of land. He and Marie bought up land piecemeal in the town of her birth, St. Labre, Manitoba, and there operated a mixed farming operation from 1969 until 1998. Then they sold their farm and retired to Winnipeg. Henri was a formidable physical presence, but his character is what will give long life to his memory. He was an enigmatic mixture: strong but gentle, stubborn but yielding, difficult but generous. Fiercely independent and guided only by his own compass, he had an irrepressible spirit and boundless energy. Health challenges and hard times did not slow him down or put him off his course. The persons whose lives were touched by his will not soon forget him. Family was all-important to Henri. That was demonstrated from the day he left his parents' farm, when he cried on the train for the first hour after leaving the station in his home town, until the day he died. He was a devoted husband and a loving father. He missed his family in France terribly ever since moving to Canada at 24. He spoke incessantly of them, and he saw them all through rose-tinted glasses. They were in his eyes the tallest, smartest, most beautiful and accomplished people in France. Henri's family would acknowledge and thank the terrific staff at both Manoir de la Cathédrale and Résidence Despins for their cheery and respectful approaches to assisted living arrangements. The family would especially thank the nurses, home care coordinator, caregivers and others who strove mightily in Henri's final weeks to ensure that he received the care and support called for by his final illness. Special thanks go out also to the persons at CancerCare and elsewhere in the St. Boniface General Hospital who rose to the challenges presented during the critical last ten days of Henri's life, now just a blur to his family. Henri's funeral will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2011, at the St. Boniface Cathedral, officiated by Father Marcel Damphousse. There will also be a second mass, by way of a memorial service in St. Labre, in the Spring or Summer of 2012, after which Henri's remains will be interred in the St. Labre Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to www.desjardinsfuneralchapel.ca DESJARDINS 233-4949 1-888-233-4949 www.desjardinsfuneralchapel.ca

HENRI HUBERT RIVOALEN Peacefully on December 4, 2011, at 84, Henri succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the St. Boniface General Hospital. He was there just ten days; his final struggle was mercifully brief. Henri was predeceased by: his wife of 55 years, Marie (nee Gérardy); his parents, Marie-Anne (nee Bizien) and François-Marie; and siblings Elie, Germaine, Jean, Etienne, Jean-Pierre, Germaine, Etienne, Denis, François and Noël. Left to cherish his memory are: his son Carl (Wendy Mudry) and daughter Marianne (William Emslie); siblings Joseph, Marie and Eliane; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and friends spread throughout France, Canada, England, Holland and Mexico. Henri was born on July 1, 1927, in Plabennec, Finistère, France. The Rivoalen family had by then lived in Brittany for centuries, and long before it was united with France. Henri's parents farmed land in Plabennec that was owned by Rivoalens for almost as long. His first language was Breton, the Celtic language still spoken in Brittany today. He learned French in school, and later English, but he was neither at heart. Henri was a proud Breton. He celebrated the language, music, geography, cuisine and culture of Brittany intermittently throughout his life, especially when visiting or receiving relatives and other countrymen. He did not, however, master the art of the Breton galette, as several unfortunate neighbours and friends came to discover when presented with his nearly inedible crepes. After deciding to leave his parents' well populated family farm, Henri set off for distant Canada and landed in Halifax in 1951. Blessed with a strong personality and an adventurous spirit, he was the only one of his siblings who took up permanent residence outside of France. He made his way West and settled ultimately in Manitoba, where he was at perfect ease with the local francophone community and where he encountered a number of Breton expatriates. While living in St. Boniface he met his beloved Marie Gérardy, whom he married in Montreal on May 1, 1954. Henri worked in different capacities and in different places until he acquired sufficient funds to purchase sections of land. He and Marie bought up land piecemeal in the town of her birth, St. Labre, Manitoba, and there operated a mixed farming operation from 1969 until 1998. Then they sold their farm and retired to Winnipeg. Henri was a formidable physical presence, but his character is what will give long life to his memory. He was an enigmatic mixture: strong but gentle, stubborn but yielding, difficult but generous. Fiercely independent and guided only by his own compass, he had an irrepressible spirit and boundless energy. Health challenges and hard times did not slow him down or put him off his course. The persons whose lives were touched by his will not soon forget him. Family was all-important to Henri. That was demonstrated from the day he left his parents' farm, when he cried on the train for the first hour after leaving the station in his home town, until the day he died. He was a devoted husband and a loving father. He missed his family in France terribly ever since moving to Canada at 24. He spoke incessantly of them, and he saw them all through rose-tinted glasses. They were in his eyes the tallest, smartest, most beautiful and accomplished people in France. Henri's family would acknowledge and thank the terrific staff at both Manoir de la Cathédrale and Résidence Despins for their cheery and respectful approaches to assisted living arrangements. The family would especially thank the nurses, home care coordinator, caregivers and others who strove mightily in Henri's final weeks to ensure that he received the care and support called for by his final illness. Special thanks go out also to the persons at CancerCare and elsewhere in the St. Boniface General Hospital who rose to the challenges presented during the critical last ten days of Henri's life, now just a blur to his family. Henri's funeral was held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2011, at the St. Boniface Cathedral, officiated by Father Marcel Damphousse. There will also be a second mass, by way of a memorial service in St. Labre, in the Spring or Summer of 2012, after which Henri's remains will be interred in the St. Labre Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to www.desjardinsfuneralchapel.ca DESJARDINS 233-4949 1-888-233-4949 www.desjardinsfuneralchapel.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 08, 2011