LABOSSIERE: James (Jim) Labossiere - born May 27, 1933 at Radville, SK - passed away July 1, 2012 at Battleford, SK. Jim is survived by his four children: Marcelle (Lance), Adele, Armand (June) and Gil ; his grandchildren: Christopher, Angela (Phil), Nicolas (Christan), Jonathan (Sheri), Tasha (April), Matthew (Lisa), Pamela. Jeannene (Richard), Benjamin (Megan), Jenisa (Kevin), Tavis (Tannis), Jaime & Julian; great-grandchildren: Riley, Abigail, Ella, Madeline, Logan, Ashley, Brendan, Derick, William, Dawson, Elisa, Madisson and Mason. Jim was predeceased by his wife, Roseline; his parents, Armand and Laura Labossiere; brother, Ted Labossiere and grandson, Phillipe Salois. Vigil Of Prayer was held Friday, July 6, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. with Wilbert Basler, Presider and Presentation by Knights Of Columbus; Mass of Christian Burial was held Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. with Fr. Anthony Afangide MSP Celebrant; both Services from St. Vital Roman Catholic Church, Battleford, SK. The Cross Bearers were Riley Salois and William Lehman; Altar Server - Riley Salois; Eulogists - Marcelle Labossiere, Gil Labossiere and Dave McQuaid; Liturgy Of The Word: 1st Reading - Armand Labossiere; Responsorial Psalm: Jaime Redford-Labossiere; 2nd Reading: Matthew Labossiere; Prayers Of The Faithful - Ed Eberts; Liturgy Of The Eucharist: Gift Bearers - Christopher Jones, Nicolas Salois, Jonathan Salois and Angela Ibbotson. Music Ministry was Dave McQuaid. The Honourary Pallbearers were Dave McQuaid, Lance Beswick and Ed Eberts and Pallbearers were Christopher Jones, Benjamin Lehman, Nicolas Salois, Tavis Lehman, Jonathan Salois, Brad McLeod, Matthew Labossiere and Curtis Stark. Rite Of Committal took place at City Cemetery, North Battleford, SK. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Battlefords Funeral Service. Eulogy Jim, our Dad was born in a small house in Radville, Saskatchewan in the poorest year of the Great Depression - 1933. He arrived on a summer's day in May with his Aunt Carrie, Grandma's sister, tending to the birth. Being from a railway family, they moved several times. From Radville the family moved to Rosetown, Carruthers, and in the 40's to Spruce Lake. Summers were often spent at Waskesiu with his brother and parents. Dad attained a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1955, and in 1987 he received a Masters in Engineering. He worked for the Department of Highways for 38 years, and later worked for Clifton Associates as a consultant. He met Mom in Meadow Lake in 1956. After a short courtship of 3 weeks, he proposed and they were married in May. Dad was a devout Christian and a family man. In the early years of our lives, he spent time building ice skating rinks in our back yards, going for walks and going on family drives. He would take all four of us to attend a Disney movie, and give mom a break. It was always an annual event for our family, to go for a drive in the country with the new government car that Dad would come home with. He would drive on gravel roads, trails, sometimes, I'm not sure there was even a road, anything but a highway. On several occasions we got stuck, even lost, and once, the farmer who pulled us out of the ditch, sold us a side of pork as well. As we got older, he would often take one or two of us on his trips around the province, when he was working. We learned about the topography of the land, where there were glacial lake beds and erratics, various rock formations, a little about different soils. He would share stories of tragedies and triumphs of some of the people that lived in the areas; who ran the general store at one time, he'd tell us about the different ethnic groups that settled the areas. Dad loved prairie history, and he had an insatiable passion for anything he could learn of Saskatchewan. His home was filled with books and he continued to seek out more on prairie history or life until the end of his life. Summers were generally for the lake, and before our family cabin, Dad would book cabins at different lakes in Saskatchewan, and often he would take us fishing. His brother Ted and children joined us on a number of occasions, and they often would return with coolers of fresh fish, which would be filleted and cooked in butter. In addition to reading, Dad loved writing. There is a long list of contacts on his e-mail that he would write to on a regular basis as well as some childhood friends that he continued to write letters to regularly. Dad had a very gentle nature. He didn't get excited about too much. Dad asked me to drive him to Regina once as he had spent a long day already driving and needed to be in Regina the following morning for a meeting. He slept in the back of the car (so I thought). I was 16 years old and had a heavy foot. It didn't come off the gas much as I approached the curve going onto the old Borden bridge. I barely made the curve and was glad that he didn't notice. The following day when we were eating lunch he said, "Didn't you take that curve at the Borden bridge a little fast last night?" Dad was a humble man, he loved feeding the birds in his yard and on the island. His pockets were always full of bird seed when he ventured out for a walk. He'd call out to the birds with his bird call, the chickadees would come and pluck the seed out of his hand or off the brim of his baseball cap. His great-granddaughter watched with curiosity, and returned home with her version of Papa Jim's birdcall. Chicka-dee-dee-dee. All four of us were impressed with how well Dad took on the role to look after our mother when she was very ill in her last years of life. He never complained, and his love for her was unconditional and he cared for her until her passing in 2005. We noticed a few things about our Dad when Mom passed away. He purchased some new artwork, all prairie scenes and he replaced the needlepoint pieces that were hanging in the living room with the prints and paintings. Always the practical man, Dad didn't see any point in putting up a Christmas tree every year, so he left them up. I asked one time, "Do you want to move these down to the furnace room till next year?" His reply, "no I think I'll leave them, they're rather pretty." Dad could be a bit eccentric, he was an independent thinker, and he was very well grounded. When Mom passed away, we thought that it might be nice for Dad to travel a bit. Several of us asked him if he would like to go overseas or perhaps on a cruise to Alaska. Dad's response, "I haven't seen part of Northeastern Saskatchewan yet, I'd like to take a trip there." Saskatchewan it was. It's hard to talk about Dad without mentioning our mother. They both were very quick witted, and together, the humour could be infectious. Dad and Mom welcomed anyone to the house, and they enjoyed the company. When the grandchildren came along, they were nothing short of kooky over all of them. They would often meet us in Radisson halfway between Saskatoon and Battleford, to pick up several of the grandchildren and return them on Sunday. Trips out to visit daughter Adele and her family in Quebec and later in Calgary, Gil in Toronto, and Armand in Vanderhoof, and Sundre. As the grandchildren got older, grandpa loved to take them out to the local restaurants. As we were looking for pictures this past few days, we came across a post card that was sent to Dad in July of 1945. This he kept with him for over 65 years. To Jim, from Val was all that is written on it. The card has a picture on it of the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on it and a little history about the city. Val Tripp was a childhood friend from Spruce Lake, he was very ill and died very young. I was touched by the sentimentality of this man, our father, who was the kindest, gentlest soul that I have ever known. Our family was in shock when we got the news of our father's death this week, as we were all looking forward to family holidays at the lake, to Drumheller, and the Calgary Zoo. I'm told that Dad was planning a driving holiday for all of us at the end of August, we are devastated. We do recognize that we are the most fortunate children to have had him in our lives for so long. Jim, Dad, Papa Jim, you will be remembered for your love of family, your intellect and your gentle nature. Thank you for giving us so much in life, we all love you and will treasure the memories and your good example of a life well lived! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
