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Reynald Bernard Lebeau
Peacefully with family by his side, our Dad Reynald (Rey) Bernard Lebeau left us at 2am on December 19, to meet many family members and friends in his new home, after a lengthy struggle with aspiration pneumonia. Left to mourn and cherish his memory are his wife, our Mom, Celine (Marginet) of 65-½ years; daughter Connie Lebeau (Niels Petersen) and their children Danielle Lebeau Petersen (Phil), Chris Petersen (Meg) and Niels’ daughter Maria Koehn (Chad); daughter Delores Naskrent (Terry) and Delores’ children Ché Orridge (Andy Ratt), Teneil Lebeau (Dean Enns), and Milan Orridge (Tony Hinds), and Terry’s children Cheryl Collins (Randy), Brett Naskrent (Samantha) and Carly Naskrent (Love); daughter Anita Lebeau (Scott Collins) and their children Emma Collins and Maggie Collins; and daughter Michelle Lebeau and her children Dumont Omeasoo, Jack Omeasoo (Emili), step son Brandon Omeasoo and their father Perry Omeasoo. Dad also has eight great grandchildren: Austin Naskrent and Kayden Koehn; Jake and Kaleia Collins; Falon, Lennix and Theo Sutherland; and Boden Ratt.
Dad is survived by a brother and two sisters, as well as Mom’s brother and four sisters. He was predeceased by his parents Albert and Azail (Lussier), his in-laws Alberic and Louise (Hutlet) Marginet, and brothers and sisters from both sides of the family. He outlived numerous friends near and far.
Dad was born at home on Mar 5, 1930, near Glenora, MB. He was seventh in a farming family of eight children. He attended school at the local school Zephyr, at St. Marie in Bruxelles and graduated from Baldur High. His first job after graduating was digging holes for hydro during rural electrification. He attended teacher training in 1952 and taught in several rural schools. Dad was also a Fuller Brush and Raleigh dealer and did other sales work. Although he was never a pressure salesman, he won many top sales awards.
Dad met Mom at a dance in 1956 and they were married June 29, 1957. They spent their first year together teaching near Cypress River and Mariapolis. They purchased a ¼ section of land north of Holland, MB in 1958 and resided there until the opportunity came to rent a farm home near Somerset, a more central area for his sales. When he was promoted to manager for Fuller Brush Dad chose Brandon as his central location. By this time all four daughters had joined the family in quick succession – Connie in 1959, Delores in 1960, Anita in 1961 and Michelle in 1963. Our family was in Brandon only a year before Dad started his career as an instructor at Assiniboine Community College, where he remained until retirement in 1990.
Life in Brandon included weekly card games with neighbours, tinkering on cars in the backyard, and long time membership in the Western Manitoba Pioneer Auto Club, where Mom and Dad developed many friendships that continue into today. When Dad upgraded his education at Bemidji State College over five summers, he would tow his old Model A behind the renovated blue camper bus, so that our family would have a set of wheels to drive for our two-months stay in Minnesota. The attention garnered from driving it around town led to the formation of even more friendships.
In 1979 Mom and Dad built their house in Chater, MB, a few miles outside of Brandon. They lived there until 1989, when they returned to their ¼ section north of Holland, with Dad commuting to Brandon to finish the last few months of work at ACC. In retirement Dad worked the land for a few years, and then rented it to a local farmer. While there, Dad filled his days with fixing tractors (his beloved 9N Ford, “Knee Deep”), remodeling a Model T now on display at Treherne’s Second Chance Museum, and finding whatever other activities would keep his hands busy. Memories of him standing over a workbench, wrench or screwdriver in hand, are etched in our memories. In the evenings, he’d fill his mind. An avid reader, you’d often see him with an open book on a wide range of topics from history to mechanics to the after-life. Dad rarely missed an opportunity to socialize. He was as easily comfortable sprawled on the couch leaving no room for anyone else, holding court in the kitchen while dinner preparations bustled around him, or at the front of the dainties and coffee line at a local social event. His love of animals was profound and compassionate; we enjoyed his stories about his pet crow – he was essentially a small animal “whisperer.” Travel, which he loved, always included a visit or two to graveyards, historical museums and national monuments. He sported a particular mischievous expression while using one of a dozen swear words he learned from a variety of languages, which he used to good effect all his life.
Dad played piano for dances with the Delorme orchestra from the age of 16. Throughout his life he continued to play music. After a stint with the Rhythm Rockets, he took time off while the family was young. In retirement he performed with the band Art & Friends, and finally with Mom at care homes in many local communities. He had a signature energetic style to his performances, his fingers bouncing along the keyboard and his body rocking in Frankie Carle piano style. Self-taught, he also dabbled with other instruments, including accordion, clarinet and harmonica.
Dad was a friend to so many, and was hard pressed to find someone he didn’t like. He had a great sensitivity for the marginalized, an empathy he passed on to his family. He was cheerful, welcoming, simply the most wide-open man many people had ever encountered. As a Dad, he never wavered in his support of his daughters’ passions and interests, and instilled in us a sense of humour, even in hard times. This sensibility continued with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, who adored him. As a husband, he was kind, attentive, never missing an opportunity to express gratitude for a meal, a new tie, or a back scratch at bed time.
Mom and Dad sold the farm and moved back to Chater in 2021. Despite his health issues towards the end of his life, Dad remained positive and active, still taking walks into autumn of this year and spending time in the shop with Terry.
He was a special soul, and we will miss him greatly.
The family is grateful to those who have shared their kind words and support at this time. Please hug the people you love.
His request for cremation has been granted and he will be laid to rest by his immediate family. He said he was back home when he returned to Chater, his choice for a burial site. A Memorial Luncheon will be held at the Chater Community Hall on Sunday, July 16, 2023 commencing at 2 p.m.
Donations in his name can be made to a charity of one’s choice or to Cancer Care Manitoba, 675 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9 (https://www.cancercare.mb.ca/Ways-To-Help/donate)
Video Tribute Music Credit
It Had to be You: Isham Jones (Ken Griffin)
Johnston Rag: Hall, Kleinkauf, Lawrence (performed by Rey Lebeau)
Grandpa: Jamie O'Hara (sung by Granddaughter Danielle, age 5, instruments, Niels Petersen)
Quand le Soleil (The French Song): Larry Vincent, Carmen Richer and Harry Pease (harmony by Connie Lebeau, produced by Niels Petersen, piano, Rey Lebeau)
Glad Time Rag (composed and performed by Rey Lebeau)
Now is the Hour When we must say Goodbye: Clement Scott, music, and Maewa Kaihau and Dorothy Stewart lyrics (Ken Griffin)
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