Jacqueline PHELAN (née CHAMPOUX)
1929 - 2024
With family around her, we regret to announce the passing of Jacqueline Champoux (née Phelan) on May 29th, just 4 days shy of her 95th birthday.
She was the oldest and ‘the boss’ of 3 siblings, 1 boy (Alexsander) and 2 girls (Germaine, Yvette), from what started off as a privileged family in Campbelltown New Brunswick in the late 20’s. Her mother taught and her father owned a commercial building with his twin brother that had a fancy clothing store and other businesses. However, they lost a lot in the depression years and her father ended up working as a bookkeeper for his cousin’s lumber mill in faraway places in New Brunswick.
‘Jackie’ was mostly educated by the nuns. She chose to pursue studies in nursing and graduated in 1950. Her working career began in New Brunswick but soon a new opportunity would present itself.
She moved to Montreal with her sisters Germaine and Yvette, where she and Germaine married the brothers of the ‘Phelan’ family. After her wedding to Leo in 1957, they moved from Montreal to a small vacation town on the South Shore called Otterburn Park, where Leo had previously purchased a house. Jackie threw many parties and gatherings, never hesitating to invite more people than the house could comfortably hold and always believing that “the more, the merrier”. People always felt welcomed at her home.
Early in her working career, she took a job as an Industrial Nurse at Canadian Vickers (Shipbuilding) in Montreal. The commute was awful because she used only public transit and it took almost 3 ½ hours per day to go to and from work. After giving birth to her only child (Paul), she moved on to other nursing positions at Simpsons (retail goods), Sunlife (Insurance) and Flamingo (food) where she ended her nursing career.
She joined various organizations and groups that did volunteer work. “The Ladies Guild”, a group from her church was the one she invested the most time with and where she made many friends and worked on many projects. Her dedicated involvement with the church resulted in becoming the church warden.
She pursued a career in real estate after her retirement from nursing, and then after real estate, completed her courses as a travel agent (we suspect it was a way to encourage Leo to travel which had limited success).
In 1992, she welcomed a daughter-in-law (Nancy) who brought her joy by allowing her to do “girly” things with. That same year, she lost Leo, her husband of 35 years and chose to sell the family home relocating to an apartment in Otterburn. A couple years later, she would become a grandmother to Jeremy, Malorie and William.
Jackie moved to a residence in Ste-Julie to reduce the burden of driving and climbing stairs. It had elevators, transport services, and cool amenities like cinema, bowling and indoor golf; her grandchildren thought this and her, very cool. COVID and age forced changes to two other facilities. St-Bruno was her final residence where friends and family visited often.
She has touched many lives by either inviting them into hers or helping them when they needed it.
She will be missed but not forgotten.
Visitation will be held at the Complexe Funéraire Demers in McMasterville, located at 651, boul. Laurier, in McMasterville on Monday June 10, 2024 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and again from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. as well as on Tuesday June 11, 2024 starting from 9:00 a.m. followed by a Celebration of her Life at 11:00 a.m.
