Rose-Marie Thibault

Rose-Marie Thibault of Swift Current, SK, passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 28, 2022, at the Meadows. She was born February 22, 1953, in Ponteix, SK to Lucien and Marie (née Entem) Thibault. 

Even in her final days, Rose-Marie was always trying to make life easier for all of us. She took the time to share her own eulogy (please note that parts are paraphrased). Let’s hear what she had to say:

God revealed to me that my parents were the foundation of my faith. They both lost their mothers at a very young age and had many challenges growing up. Despite all of this, as a Catholic couple, they taught us morals and truths and their door was always open to anyone and everyone. They weren’t prejudiced and did their best to help anyone in need. We never had much, but our home was always full of laughter, joy and comfort. We worked together as a family, and we were all very close. 

I was the fifth of seven children born to Marie Entem and Lucien Thibault. Our family lived on a farm four miles north of Ponteix, Saskatchewan. I was a shy and content little girl and was always eager to please everybody, even if it meant kneeling in the corner because I had copied my sister Adele’s actions when I knew they were wrong. Once at the supper table, I even tried to hide my broken arm because I didn’t want my brother to be punished for accidentally bouncing me out of the moving buggy.

We didn’t have much money, but with a lot of hard work, we always managed to get by. We had cows for milk and meat, pigs for meat and lard, and chickens for eggs and meat. We also planted a huge garden each year. 

My parents were loving and warm and they took pride in our Christian family. Sundays were set aside for family and the house was always open to everyone. We spent special occasions with our house full of relatives and friends and the festive aroma of turkey and potatoes. We children entertained one another with games of tag and hide-and-go-seek while the men talked farming and the women cleaned up. Later, everyone gathered around the kitchen table and played cards into the wee hours of the morning.

This upbringing and many other experiences in my life shaped the way I raised my children and lived my life. Like my mom and dad, my children and I didn’t have much, but we enjoyed camping trips, hosting family gatherings and playing practical jokes. As my children left home and began their own families, I always took time to be a part of their lives and helped out however I could. I am proud of the four children I raised and have cherished the time I got to spend with all of my children and grandchildren and hold each of them in my heart. 

I became a born-again Christian in 1996 and was baptized on April 23, 2000, at Eastside Church of God. I grew in my faith by taking part in Bible studies, becoming a Stephen Minister, and serving on mission trips to Mexico.  

I enjoyed my career, which always involved my love of numbers. After my divorce, I focused on getting an education so I could provide for my children. In 1987, I got my dream job working for Agricultural Credit Corporation of Saskatchewan where I had baskets of payments to process and got to use my eye for detail to make sure payments were applied correctly. For the last leg of my career, I joined the team at Westax in 2003, where I worked as a tax preparer until my retirement in 2018. 

After my retirement, I spent less time with numbers and more time getting involved in sports–something I loved from the time I was a little girl riding my bike in figure 8s on the farm, playing on volleyball, basketball, and baseball teams as a teenager, and joining slowpitch as a young adult. In my later years, I overcame my shyness and gained enough confidence to teach Forever in Motion and learned to play pickleball, where I met numerous friends. 

My dad, Lucien died in 1971 followed by my mom, Marie, in 2007, brother, Fern, in 2010 and his children Patrick in 1985 and Rachel in 2019, as well as most of my aunts and uncles. 

I am survived by my four children, Lynn Laverdiere (Dee) and Joshua, Serenity, Sophia, Noah and stepchildren Amber McKinley (Tyler) and their children Paisley and Luca, Cheyenne Welsh (Jaedon); Rachel Laverdiere and Jesse Kim; Roxanne Snyder (Derrick) and Luc Perrault, Ayden, Kaleb, and Micah; Ron Laverdiere;  Auntie Lornie Entem (Talbot), Claire Chalifour, Harvé Thibault, Uncle Fern Cyrenne, my step-mother-in-law Thérèse Laverdiere and numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews. 

While we grieve the loss of Rose-Marie, let’s be reminded of her motto to accept and move on. Each time we see a butterfly or a rose, each time we hear laughter or eat a piece of pie piled high with ice cream, each time we finish a puzzle or file our income tax, let’s celebrate the love and light and wisdom she brought to each and every one of us because that’s what she would want us to do.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7)

The Celebration of Life for Rose-Marie Thibault took place on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 2:00 pm from East Side Church of God, Swift Current, SK. The service was recorded and can be viewed here.

In memory of Rose-Marie and for those wishing, donations made to TeleMiracle or Vases for Rose, a project that funds pottery classes for single parents and their children, would be appreciated by the family

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