Cecilia Leona Gaudette (Coons) was born on July 31, 1941 to Cecil and Lena Coons (Ouellette) at Battleford. Shortly after, the family moved to Prince Albert where they lived for two years. Sadly, Cecelia's parents then separated, so Lena and her young daughter moved back to Battleford to be closer to family and friends. Although Cecelia was raised in a single-parent home, her mother saw to it that she lacked for nothing, gave her the love and attention that all children need and prepared her for a productive and happy life. Cecelia completed Grades 1 through 8 at St. Vital School and high school classes at the Battleford Convent. During high school, her friends affectionately dubbed her "Coonie" and "Cec," two distinctive nicknames that would stay with her for life.
After high school, Cec worked for a nursery, a hatchery and other businesses in the Battlefords. By all accounts, she was an excellent employee and took pride in her work. Moreover, the lessons she learned would serve her well in the years to come.
On Sept. 5, 1959, Cecilia Leona Coons married Maurice Henry Gaudette in Battleford. Maurice was employed as an auto body repairman.
In the late 1960s, Cec and Maurice loaded their car and a trailer and moved to Coquitlam, B.C. Maurice continued his career in auto body repair while Cec found employment in greenhouses. They made annual trips back to the Battlefords to see Cec's mother and numerous friends and relatives. During these occasions, Cec would take her mother shopping, visit with extended family and spend some time at the casino and bingo hall.
Cec and Maurice also enjoyed many visits from family and friends while living in British Columbia. They were great hosts and Cec was an excellent cook. Cec and Maurice had no children, but they adopted their cousins' children as their own, lavishing affection on them and playing sports with them. The Gaudettes moved to Penticton, B.C. for their retirement years.
Cec Gaudette was a gifted athlete. Her living room was filled with trophies and awards she earned during her sports career. At age 13, she played ball with a girls' team for 17-year-olds. When she played in out of town tournaments, Cec worried her teammates might end up with boyfriends and forget to take her home. Although Cec was good at all sports, she soon found that five-pin bowling was her sport. In 1956, she began her bowling career at the Slane Bowling Alley (also known as the Nu-way Bowladrome) at 1092 - 102nd St. She was a member of the North Battleford Bowling Team for 10 years.
Under the guidance of her coach and mentor, Barry Beaupre, Cec set her sights on becoming the best bowler in Saskatchewan. Her commitment to the sport, ability to focus, and countless hours of practice would pay large dividends. In 1956, Cec narrowly missed a perfect game with a 448 score. A few weeks later, she bowled a 1,009 triple. Cec's season average was 237, which was good enough to win the North Battleford City Singles Title and the right to compete in the Saskatchewan Bowling Proprietors Provincial Singles in Calgary, Alta.
Competing in the Western Canadian Championship for the fifth time, Cec opened with 316, 242, 261 and 271 - good for third place at the halfway mark, and just 45 pins back of the leader. In her final game, Cec found the strike range eight times in a row and finished with a 351 score to win the women's singles championship by 27 pins. Cec commented after the game, "I knew the last one was going to have to be a real good one."
Despite her remarkable success to this point, Cec's best performances were yet to come. One week after winning the women's singles, Cec competed at the Canadian Women's Open at the Chinook Bowladrome in Calgary. With noisy North Battleford spectators cheering her on, she bowled games of 261, 337, 250, 298 and 293 for a 140 pin advantage over Norah Oakley of Toronto, Ont. to win the Canadian Women's Five Pin Bowling Singles Championship. On the first day of the competition, Cec was 61 pins ahead of her eastern rival. On the second day, she increased the margin to 79 pins. Cec won the tournament with a final score of 2,600. Her final score was the third highest in the 14-year history of the women's singles championship. North Battleford coach, Elmer McCoshen, proclaimed Cec Gaudette world champion. He said this with confidence since Canada was the only country in which five-pin bowling was played.
At the young age of 24, Cec had become a true champion. She was given a hero's welcome when she returned home to North Battleford. Hundreds of people lined the streets and filled the Bowlarena to hear Deputy Mayor Ned Winder praise her accomplishments. Cec was also invited to a city council meeting where she was lauded for bringing a measure of fame to North Battleford. And on behalf of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, president Cecil Davis also thanked her for her remarkable accomplishments. After her unprecedented success in Calgary, Cec was extremely busy in the weeks after the women's open - speaking at bowling windup banquets in Northern Saskatchewan.
Sadly, Cecelia Leona Gaudette, the remarkable woman who had contributed so much to the sports community in the Battlefords, died of cancer on Jan. 18, 2002 in Penticton. She was only 60 years old. A funeral service was held in Penticton on Jan. 23. Memorial services were also held at St. Vital Roman Catholic Church on May 18. Cec's ashes were returned to her hometown and buried in the Town of Battleford cemetery. Cec's husband died on Aug. 20, 2004 in Penticton at the age of 72. A memorial service was held on Aug. 28. His ashes were returned to Battleford and buried with his wife's. Cec and Maurice were survived by Cec's mother, Maurice's siblings and numerous relatives.
A great honour was bestowed on Cec when, on Oct. 5, 2002, she was posthumously inducted into the North Battleford Sports Hall of Fame. On the occasion of North Battleford's centennial, we, its citizens, also pause to honour an extraordinarily talented woman who brought pride and recognition to our city.
