Obituary of Marie Simone Georgette Audet

passed away after a brief illness on January 1st, 2016 in Chilliwack BC at the age of 103. Simone was born in a small farming community near Chateauguay Quebec on August 18th, 1912. The fourth of eight children, she grew-up in Montreal, then began a fifteen year career in the garment and fashion industry while still in her early teens. She moved west to a military base in Victoria BC to marry Georges Audet in 1941, and after war’s end, they settled near Port Moody to begin raising a family of three boys before moving to Haney in 1957. Simone was happiest living on the banks of Kanaka Creek where she combined a love of nature, the pleasures of a hobby farm, and a passion for fashion design with family duties. She possessed exceptional creative talent often expressed through a sewing machine that could be heard rumbling well into the early morning hours. Publicly, she dressed in high fashion that would not have been out of place on runways of Paris, but she was equally comfortable tending to farm animals in tattered clothes and gum-boots. She turned scrap metal into works of art, maintained a life-long quest for knowledge and kept abreast of world affairs well into her late 90’s. She was an active member of the CWL and contributed generously to fund-raising functions with artistic creativity. Simone outlived her siblings by many years, and was predeceased by her husband Georges in 1994. She is survived by sons André (Karen) of Courtenay BC, Robert (Virginia) of Chilliwack BC, and Maurice of Toronto Ontario; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30am, Thursday, January 7th, at St Luke’s Roman Catholic Church, 20285 Dewdney Trunk Road, followed by interment at the Maple Ridge Cemetery, 21404 Dewdney Trunk Road. Relatives and friends are welcome to attend the service and a reception at St. Luke’s immediately following interment. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be offered to the St. Luke’s CWL. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Cilliers Marais and staff at the Mageta Clinic for dedicated care over many years. The family would like to put together a collection of stories and memories of Simone’s life. Please e-mail or mail Karyn Audet with your favourite memories of Simone or any favourite stories she shared with you. Email: audetk@douglascollege.ca Mailing address: Karyn Audet 107 College Court New Westminster, BC V3L 1K8