Obituary of Antoinette (Marie-Marthe) Simard

Antoinette (Mary Marthe) Simard (Poitras)

Peacefully passed away August 14, 2017 in Regina, Saskatchewan at the age of 105 years. She is survived by her daughters, Louise and Gisele, her son Ronald (Pam), her 7 grandchildren, Jim (Desiree), Renee, Amy, Paul, Sam, Marin (Lorne Shiplack) and agreat-grandson, Jaxon Shiplack, her sister and brother, Jeanne Colborne and John Poitras and many nieces and nephews living in Ontario, Alberta, Switzerland and Quebec. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert Simard (1983), mother and father, Lily (Taillefer) and Frank Poitras and brother George. Antoinette was born in Ituna, Sk on August 8, 1912. In 1919 the family moved to Meadow Lake, Sk. They were one of the first pioneers of Meadow Lake. Antoinette began her career as a teacher in Junor, Sk. She was the first teacher at the first school, a log cabin, in Junor. Ever the adventurous spirit, in 1937, at the age of 25, Antoinette left her life in rural Saskatchewan and travelled to Montreal. There, while working at the head offices of SunLife during World War II, she married Robert Simard. While living in Quebec, Antoinette gave birth to her first two children Ronald and Louise. A few years later they moved to Meadow Lake, Sk where they would raise Ron and Louise along with their third child, Gisele. In Meadow Lake, Antoinette returned to her career teaching school. In total she taught for over 35 years and she loved every moment of it. She loved her students and touched many hearts. Many of them kept in contact with her for years later. She loved music and drama and went to incredible lengths to make sure the plays her students put on and the choral groups they sang in were done perfectly. Antoinette loved the arts, but was also an old fashioned three R's teacher. She made sure her students got their three R's down pat. Antoinette travelled the world extensively and shared her experiences with family and friends. She loved tennis, golfing, reading, playing bridge, singing in choirs and playing piano, crocheting, oil painting and doing volunteer work with the church. Also, she thoroughly enjoyed her summers at their cottage at Grieg Lake and receiving friends and family there. When she reached 100 years old, she was humbled and surprised to receive the Centenarian Award from the Saskatchewan Seniors’ Mechanism. Antoinette was healthy for almost all of her 105 years. She was driving and golfing until 94. At 98 she had her license renewed just in case. But after breaking her hip when she was 102, she began to lose strength physically and gradually became too weak to walk in the last few months of her life. But she was a fighter and her indomitable spirit would not give up easily. We are thankful for having her with us for so long. She was an inspiration to her family and a wonderful role model. The family would like to thank Dr. Barry Lotz and the staff of Santa Maria for their kind and loving care of Antoinette. Services will be held at Santa Maria Seniors Home at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, 2017.