Anne Le Rougetel: my splendid mother

April 2024: Anne and Amanda -- mother & daughter with but one nose between us (as it were)

Formal notice

Anne Le Rougetel died peacefully at home on Friday, April 26, 2024, with her daughters at her side. Born in 1928, Anne was a remarkable woman; a talented writer; an eclectic reader; well versed in world affairs; loving beyond measure to her children; kind and generous to friends; compassionate to those in need. She enjoyed reading a good book and engaging in interesting conversation. Due to failed vision and failing hearing, both these pursuits disappeared from her life in the final year or so. Please remember Anne by taking a friend to coffee and enjoying a delicious pastry. Anne was predeceased by her husband Colin. She is survived by her three children and their families: Katy (Guy). Amanda (Val). Charles (Lisa, Max and Sam). Special mention must be made of Barbara Chan, who was a generous friend and caring companion to Anne, and of Edna Abel, who was a loving friend and interesting dinner companion at Rosedale. 

Informal words

I loved my mother, who was a guide for me in life. She was, for me, a model of how to live meaningfully and fully with love centred and relationships celebrated. 

May her spirit soar and her soul be at peace. 

I have celebrated my splendid mother over the years on this blog. You can read my Mother's Day pieces here, and here, and here, and here. 

I inherited my writing skills from Mum, who was, herself, an accomplished writer and teacher of writing in her day. She has left us four volumes of her memoirs, some of which have been excerpted on this blog here, and here, and here, and here. 

I have written less about my father, Colin, but my parents were a good match -- the one for the other and as a partnership. For them, it was love at first sight in a London university cafeteria -- a meeting that led to more than 60 years of navigating a good life together. I wrote about my also-splendid father here. 

I value having these words to share at this time. Telling our stories and writing them down so they can be shared is important. Don't ever underestimate the value of your own stories, ordinary as they may seem to you. Honour my splendid mother by putting your stories on the page. Your friends and family will be grateful. 

Last week's post -- the writing of it, the sharing of it, the response I continue to receive to it -- has helped me move into grieving and, importantly, talking about the joy of my Mother and the sorrow at her no longer being alive in this world. I am grateful for words at this time. 

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.