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Obituary of George Edward St.Denis
St.Denis, George Edward
We announce with great sorrow the passing of George Edward St.Denis on October 29th, 2015 in his ninety-eighth year. He is predeceased by his wife Frances, brother Tom and sisters Olive and Mildred, and is survived by his children Susan, Thomas, Peter (Sand), Nancy (Peter), Mary Ann, Anthony, and Catherine (John); his grandchildren Blake (Laura), Gabriel (Samantha), Charlotte (Joseph), Emily (Emmanuel), Meredith (Sean), Christopher (Ann-Marie), James, Jack, and Jah; and great-grandchildren Kaleb, Liam, Charlotte, and Leon. Born in Toronto in 1917, Dad joined the Canadian Army when barely out of his teens and was one of the very few full-time soldiers in Canada at the beginning of the Second World War. He deployed to Britain in 1942 and served throughout the Army's campaigns in western France and the Low Countries. After the war he remained in uniform to make the service his career, retiring in 1967 as a Warrant Officer 2nd Grade. In 1946, after a long-distance courtship, he married Frances, his one love and life-long companion, and together they enjoyed 57 years of marriage until her death in 2003. He and Mom and a growing family moved often from one Army base in Canada to another, and summers were frequently spent on extended camping trips as we moved to a new home. As a career soldier, Dad was often away from his family on a military course or an unaccompanied tour of duty such as his year-long posting to Egypt in 1966 with the United Nations peacekeeping mission. As a veteran, Dad was a proud member for many years of the Royal Canadian Legion, which he served in several capacities including two terms as President of his Branch in Alliston, Ontario. A devout Catholic, he was also active in the Knights of Columbus, where he attained the status of Fourth Degree Knight, and he was a tireless campaigner, as well as a frequent donor, for the Red Cross in numerous blood-donor drives. When Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and eventually institutionalized in a nursing home in Perth, Dad unfailingly spent two hours each and every day for years sitting by her side and feeding her fruit slices and other treats. In typical fashion, he also volunteered so many hours to the local Alzheimer's Society that he was awarded a certificate of appreciation. In the final reckoning, Dad lived a life that was not only full but also compassionate, generous, charitable, and productive. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the staff at the Perley Rideau Veteran's Health Care Centre, especially the exceptional staff of Rideau 2 South who took such solicitous care of Dad. Friends may pay their respects at the Blair and Son Funeral Home in Perth on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015 between 2 and 4 p.m. and between 6 and 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated in St. John's Catholic Church, Perth, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4th, 2015. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Society or to the Perley Rideau Veteran's Health Care Centre would be most appreciated.