It is with great sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of Teresa Cecile Meilleur of Sicamous, BC on May 23rd, 2012 as the result of a single vehicle accident that occurred near her home. Teresa was born on January 1st, 1948 in Kirkland Lake, ON and grew up in Elliot Lake, ON. She was the second of three children of Lornie and Cecile Mullins with an older brother Mike and a younger sister Linda. She had many fond memories of her childhood and often told stories of her and her siblings adventures. She moved to BC in her 20’s, spending some time in Vancouver before venturing to the small northern mining community of Stewart BC to perform secretarial work at Granduc Mine. This is where she eventually met the love of her life Ed Meilleur in 1970. They were married on July 22nd, 1978 in Elliot Lake where she later gave birth to their daughter Desiree. They returned to BC in 1980, moving to Sicamous in 1984 where she spent the remainder of her life - she often said that she felt at home in BC. She was a very loving wife and always made sure she maintained a warm and welcoming home for her husband of almost 34 years.
Teresa was an incredibly dedicated mother and was willing to do anything for her daughter. While Desiree was growing up her house was always the hang out place due to Teresa’s hospitality. In recent years she spent lots of time helping out with her grand kids, taking many journeys to Ontario to make life easier for Desiree. She loved her son in law Ray and they had developed a strong relationship over the last 8 years. She was certainly a proud mother on their wedding day. Teresa loved life with her greatest passion being her two young grandsons Camden (3 yrs old) and Cordell (1 yr old), thankfully she had recently spent 6 weeks with them. She was always talking about her next planned visit in July and the boys could not wait for Grandma Teresa to return (and neither could Ray and Desiree) - a deep void has been left in their lives. Teresa was looking forward to enjoying retirement living with Ed and they had plans of leaving their home of close to 30 years to be closer to Desiree, Ray, Camden and Cordell.
She was a great cook and baker and loved to welcome people into her home. Teresa was an avid quilter and enjoyed spending time sewing with friends and making gifts for her family. She was a faithful Catholic and volunteered many hours to the church. Teresa is survived by her husband Edmond Meilleur of Sicamous BC, and her daughter Desiree and son in law Ray Wilkins along with their two sons Camden and Cordell Wilkins all of Balmertown, ON. She is also survived by her brother Mike (Gayle) Mullins of Elliot Lake, ON, sister Linda (Don) Groke of London, ON and numerous brothers and sisters in law, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She is predeceased by her mother and father Cecile and Lawrence Mullins of Elliot Lake, ON.
She was a loving wife, a devoted mother, an adoring grandmother and a great friend of many. She was deeply loved and will be sadly missed - we are all struggling to come to grips with this terrible tragedy. A visitation service will be held at 3:00 pm on Wednesday May 30th, 2012 at Bowers funeral home in Salmon Arm, BC. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday May 31st, 2012 at Our Lady of Fatima, Catholic Church, Sicamous with a luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Online condolences can be sent through Teresa’s obituary at www.bowersfuneralservice.com
Funeral arrangements are in the care of Bowers Funeral Service, Salmon Arm, BC