Dora PARISÉ

Dora Deschamps A memorial service for pioneer Mattice resident Dora (née Parisé) Deschamps, 76, of 99 Queen Ave. was held Aug. 2, 2001 in Mattice. She died July 28 at Thunder Bay McKellar Hospital following a Hwy 11 accident just west of Mattice. Born March 20, 1925 in Iroquois Falls, she came to Reesor a few years later and then to Mattice following her marriage in 1946. An occasional for-hire housecleaner, she was employed for some 15 years as a TransCanada PipeLines chart changer/meter reader for the Hearst-Mattice area. She was a founding member of the Auxiliaires de St-François-Xavier. Proficient at bucksawing since childhood working for her father - there were no brothers in the family - at age 75 she finished second among women competitors during the early-February 2000 La Forge bucksaw contest in Kapuskasing. She continued practising at home, but the contest wasn't held this year. She also enjoyed quilting, embroidery, knitting, gardening, spending time with family, and playing cards. In May, she had begun weightlifting at a Hearst fitness gym. Her father Magloire Parisé died in 1976, her mother Bessie in 1989, and a twin sister Aurore Deschamps in 1999. She leaves her husband Gérard Deschamps of Mattice, and daughters Mina (Edwin Kennedy) Pronovost, Claire (Denys) Duval and Geraldine (Normand) Duval, all of Mattice. Also surviving are sisters Evelyn Pearson of Bourget, Ont., Hazel Deschamps of Sturgeon Falls and Doreen Mercier of Hull, Quebec, as well as six grandchildren and a great grandson. Cremation was arranged in Thunder Bay. Reverends René Grandmont and Adrien Noël co-officiated the service at the St-François-Xavier Church. Interment followed at the St-François-Xavier Cemetery.