Surrounded by her loving family, Jeanne-Marie O’Connor (nee Trudeau) passed away peacefully early Christmas morning, December 25, 2018, in her 90th year. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Michael and is survived by her adoring daughters Louise McGill (Michael), Jane Neal (Andrew), Michelle O’Connor Coughlan (Dr. Donald), Carolyn O’Connor (Kostas) and grandchildren Stephanie West (Daniel), Meghan and Cameron McGill; Andrew, James and Alexandra Neal; Mikayla and Alexander Gardias; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Our mother was born in Tweed Ontario, on November 7, 1929. She was the beloved daughter of the late Veronica and John Joseph Trudeau. She was predeceased by her sisters Doris Bunton (Albert- deceased) and Cletus Plata (Edward- deceased); and leaves behind siblings Cecilia Loubert, John Trudeau (Joan- deceased), Mary Dinan (David), and Jamie Trudeau (Marilyn).

Mom grew up in Belleville, Ontario and upon moving to Toronto she met and married the love of her life, Michael O’Connor. They soon relocated to Vancouver, B.C. where they welcomed their first three daughters and completed their family with a fourth daughter after moving to Montreal. Mom was the matriarch who kept everything under control while dad was travelling across the country on business trips.

Mom wore many hats, not the least of which were chef, fashion stylist, interior designer, teacher and nurse. She had a sense of style like no other and made and entrance wherever she went. Our home was furnished with beautiful art, antiques, china and collectibles curated from her travels up and down the eastern seaboard. Her culinary expertise was beyond compare.

Everything that mom did was out of fierce love for her husband and daughters. There are memories too numerous to mention of our favorite meals lovingly prepared from scratch for every birthday and every occasion. She was the consummate hostess and doyenne.

In her later years, she and Dad had the opportunity to travel to many exotic destinations such as Japan, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Egypt, not to mention dozens of sojourns from Cape Cod to Florida. All of our life’s most precious memories were of our times spent together.
Most of all though, it was her love of family that shone through in everything she did, that has inspired our lives and our values to this day.

We extend our appreciation and gratitude to the staff of Macassa Lodge who lovingly cared for Mom for the past three years.

A memorial service to honor our mother’s life was held on Friday December 28, 2018 at St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church in Oakville.

Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.