I met Maria shortly after buying a country house in Lac St. Antoine where Laurence Skora lived. I was pregnant with my eldest, David, and Laurence quickly became our favorite babysitter, in addition to getting involved in the Association du Lac St. Antoine where we also participated. During a meal at her house, we were surprised to meet Maria, very curious to know her mother's new friends. It wasn't long before she and I found common interests that nurtured our friendship.

 

When Maria was invited to our house, to one of the many celebrations of the year, be it Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving, she always arrived with her arms full; bites for the aperitif, salami, interesting cheeses, and, of course, an exuberant dessert, like her. No matter how much I told her: "I have everything, Maria, the meal is all planned!", nothing helped, she wanted to participate, in her own right. And she was delighted by the welcome reserved by all the other guests (especially my children) for the little extras she brought. Yes, Maria was part of the family and she liked to spoil her family. For the occasion, she always had an original touch to her clothing.

 

Maria acted as a generous aunt for my 3 children, David, Laurie-Noelle and Eleonor. My husband and I are only children: therefore no brothers or sisters: it was therefore our friends who filled the roles of aunts and uncles.


Hey! How she spoiled them, my 3 children! She always had a good word (and a treat) for them. It was part of their life until adulthood. Thank you God for this loving presence!

 

As I mentioned, Maria and I had several interests in common: we became "Partners in Crime", even if our activities were not criminal, but let's say... out of the ordinary, a bit extreme.

A passion we shared was our addiction to garage sales...but not just any passion; not just a table in the driveway of a house. It was nothing. We were aiming high. .. and big. Do you know the Great Glebe Garage Sale? ...GGGS? The entire Glebe neighborhood in Ottawa is participating in this huge garage sale, hundreds of homes. And we didn't want to miss a thing... We were there around 6am to find parking on the street. Maria brought a big cooler full of food, to sustain us all day, because, of course, we were among the last to leave the neighborhood, my van full of treasures...

 

 

Maria was an environmentalist before her time! A nice piece of furniture on the side of the road? We managed so that he would not go to ruin. I have beautiful things in my country house, which have been stripped and refinished, saved from the dump thanks to Maria.

Maria, the planet says thank you!

Among the other more or less realistic projects that I shared with Maria was the enthusiasm for a beautiful, slightly extravagant garden. Yes, Maria had convinced me to invest in dwarf apple trees, where each branch gave a different type of apple. After a couple of hundred dollars and multiple applications of dormant oil, which Maria had advised and supplied to me, she came to lend me a hand for their maintenance, each spring. However, our fervor was not rewarded, quite the contrary. Well, of the original 5 apple trees, only one survived him. But it was an opportunity to spend some good times together.

Another characteristic of Maria was her experience of the world, her travels which seemed fabulous, her multi-millionaire ex-husbands... Legends or Reality? ... We'll never know.

Thank you Maria for your contribution to the Marvelous of this world.

Rest in peace.

Your friend,

Carole Menard-Buteau