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Lilianne Delma (Huneault) Valiquette
February 15, 1930 - July 16, 2001
I first meet Aunt Lil when I was 13 yrs old. My Siter and her husband asked me if I would like to go to North Bay for the
weekend to meet aunt Lil.
I never meet any of my Dad's side of the family before and of course I said yes.
We arrived very late as it is a 5 hour drive from Toronto to the Bay. What I did not know was my aunt did not know that we
were comming nor were we invited. My aunt took us in and as I found out in later years she never turned anyone away from her
door. That was my first meeting with her but not my last.
I meet her again at the first Valiquete family runion
on Thanksgiving weekend in 1984. I stayed with her son Joe and his wife Denise. Lil worked hard that weekend and she did not
really get a chance to enjoy the family as I did. Lil did all the cooking and baking for the runion. I did not really get
to spend that much time with her.
I decided in 1985 I would go to North Bay for Christmas that is when I got
to know aunt Lil, and to see what a wonderful person she really was. Lil always had something on the stove to eat and there
was always coffee and water for tea. Her front door was never locked and I found it strange just to walk in without knocking
but that was the way it was with her.
Lil was the wife of my Uncle Lornie Valiquette yet even after his death
in 1960 she kept in touch with the family and as matter of fact it was she who kept the family togeather. Her own children
called or dropped by everyday to see their mother.
This was how close she kept the family togeather.
I
mentioned to her one day that I was thinking of doing the family tree and she told me that that was a great idea and she would
help me in anyway she could. Lil held up to that promise by providing more information on the Valiquette's then the Valiquettes'
themsleves knew. This lady, yes, I mean Lady was a walking library on the Valiquettes' and Larondes'.
I called
her many times to ask questions and she had the answers. I remember just showing up at her door in the summers and the welcome
I would get. She was like a mother to me a I will never forget that as long as I live.
Lil passed away on July
16, 2001 and she has a special place in all our hearts. I will never forget her and I know that all the people she helped
will never forget this lady either.
Rest in Peace and I know you made it to Heaven. I will join you there one
day and hope you are the one to bring me home to my family.
Thanks Aunt Lil as you made me a better person as
you did for every person who's life you touched.
Your Nephew Ernie.
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Lilianne Delma (Huneault) Valiquette
February 15, 1930 to July 16, 2001
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Memories and Stories
I know I speak for the Laronde and Manion families and possibly a load of other people when I say
Lil was the most generous and unselfish person you'd ever want to meet in your life.
She was kind and tolerant towards
the most difficult of people, looking instead for the good in them. She looked after everyone who came to her door. She was
MUM to a lot of strays who have gone back to thank her time and again.
As my brother, Jim, says, she saved him and
his son 40 years ago when she took them in.
Although she was a widow trying to raise six young children and keep a roof
over their heads, she considered Jim as her mate, and his son, Jimmy , also became her son, whom she raised along with her
children.
She seemed to find time for everyone. She'd be the first one to start cooking the minute one of us had a
crisis. She was our hero , our sister, our shining grace.
So if there is a heaven, we believe the; no the second Lil
slipped from this earth, she would be cradled in the arms of her loved ones who have gone before her.
We'll miss you,
but we'll let you go.
Love
Marlene Greenwood
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