Gertrude Arnal

Gertrude Arnal

(née Préfontaine/Bougard)

Peacefully with family holding her tightly, Mom passed away into her Saviour’s loving arms on December 15th, 2024 at the age of 88.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Luc (Terry Lynn) Arnal, Jacqueline (Roland) Rasmussen, Charlotte (Rodney) McDonald, Yolande (Paul) Franzmann and Francine Gould; her grandchildren Matthew, Meghan (Ray), Sydney, Cameron, Nathan and Rylan; and her 2 great grandchildren Sullivan and Claire, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Gertrude will be greeted in Heaven by her husband Vincent, her birth parents Amédée & Gertrude (Dandenault) Préfontaine, and her adoptive parents Noël & Laetitia (Prefontaine) Bougard and her siblings, whom all loved her beyond measure.

Mom was born and raised in St. Boniface.  She was the youngest of 8 children who shortly after her mother’s passing, was adopted by her aunt and uncle.  While she grew up in Winnipeg some of her favorite times were with her siblings on the farm in St. Pierre Jolys, and at the cabin at Ponemah Beach. Mom attended College St. Boniface for a year before she entered the religious order of the Oblate Sisters.  She never took her final vows as she chose to serve the Lord in other ways.  In 1959, Mom graduated from St. Boniface School of Nursing with her RN designation.  She loved her career tremendously with her days as a nurse were some of the happiest days of her life. Mom retired from St. Claude Hospital in 1994.

As a child, Mom had always dreamt of marrying a farmer.  This came true on October 7, 1961.  She and dad raised their family of 7 in the small town of Fannystelle, MB where volunteering and community involvement was a real strength of hers.  Her selflessness made her a pillar in the community. Besides her husband and kids, mom also devoted much of her time to the Church, singing at every Sunday mass, singing at weddings, anniversaries and funerals.  She led the choir for many years and played the organ whenever Fernande was not available.  It was a common occurrence to see Mom directing the choir in her nursing uniform after just completing a nightshift at the hospital. Her utmost dedication to the church was limitless and admirable.

Faith, family, farm life and nursing were her passion. At home, she managed a huge garden, helped with seeding and driving the combine at harvest, for many years led the Catholic Woman’s League, organized many bonspiels in town, was on cleaning crews for the church, community centre and cemetery, she sewed many of our clothes, babysat her grandchildren, volunteered with numerous organizations in Winnipeg.  The list goes on and on as she was an absolute “Wonder Woman”.

Mom and Dad retired from farming in 1994 and sold the farm in 2002, moving to St. Vital where they lived until Dad’s passing in 2011.

Mom then moved to assisted living in 2014, followed by supportive living in 2019 after a fall that changed her life forever.  Her memory loss forced her into Golden West Centennial Lodge in 2021.  We are grateful to the staff there for helping Mom through the hardest of her days.

Funeral Service will be held at the Holy Family Catholic Church, 774 Archibald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba on Saturday December 21, 2024 at 11:00 am. The service will be available to view via Live Streaming at www.afh.ca

Maman, on t’aime, on t’adore! De que veux tu de plus encore.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alzheimer Society of Manitoba.

Adam’s Funeral Home of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba in care of arrangements.  Phone 204-248-2201.  To view the service details and leave condolences, please visit www.afh.ca