It's a sad day

Today we have lost a great friend.  Ginette, this post is for you. May you Rest In Peace now.

I met Ginette or Gigi, like many called her, when I moved to Montreal to work at the Regional Office of Veterans Affairs.  It was August 19, 1985.  I walked in the office and this red head, freckle face with a smile from ear to ear, greeted me.  This was Ginette and she was going to be my boss.  Now she had a laugh like no other.  When she laughed, it came right from the toes up and you could hear her from anywhere.  She loved to have a good time and was always ready, willing and able.  But better still, we loved playing tricks on her.  I had the ideas but the guys would carry them out.  She went for lunch one day so we decided to completely change her office around.  She came back, went in, came out because she thought she had gone to the wrong office.  Looked at us all sitting there, went back in, came out and then she caught on.  We also had a fake bird once and with invisible thread, we hung the bird from the ceiling and then from my desk, I would drop the bird just enough for it to touch the top of her head, then she would scratch and up went the bird.  It took her awhile to catch on.  We did many things to her and she laughed every time.  She often had meetings and was seldom at her desk, so we found a mop, put paper eyes, nose and lips on it and tied it to her chair.  It kind of looked like her.  She liked it too.  We were a team, Ginette, Marcel, France, Isabelle, Richard and myself.   We had great laughs and great time.

When I got pregnant with Kevin, she organized a surprise baby shower at work for me.  She never had children but every child was hers and she treated them like her own.  The kindness that she showed not only to me but to Kevin and Richard will be engraved in my heart forever.  She moved to Charlottetown in 1990 and 6 months later Richard, Kevin and I followed.  Even if we didn't see each other every day, I always knew she was there.

Ginette battled cancer for a long time but everytime you saw her, she always had a smile and was still laughing.  She always asked how Kevin was and wanted a picture of him in his uniform.  I framed one for her and brought it to the hospital.  She was very happy and kept saying, gardes y les beaux yeux bleus.  Look at his blue eyes.  Ginette made everyone feel good.  When you went to her place, you knew at what time you went but never knew what time you left.  Her house was always open to everyone. 

Ginette was an inspiration to alot of people.  She touched my heart as she touched many others.  I will remember her for her humour, her french accent (nobody could forget that), her courage and her love.  Ginette was addictive.  When you saw her, you didn't want to leave.  She left too young and too soon.


Today when I received the email from Richard telling me that Ginette had passed, I was sad but it also meant that she was no longer suffering.  We lost a great person and God found a great Angel.  When I left Beaumont-Hamel after work, I walked among the leaves which were reddish and it reminded me of her with her red hair and freckles.  I turned toward the site where so many young soldiers lost their lives on July 1, 1916 and I said boys, take care of her and I walked away.

Ginette, it was a honour to know you and a privilege to be your friend.