Sr. Simone Damphousse
October 16, 1934 – March 4, 2023
Peacefully Sister Simone Damphousse died at Actionmarguerite, St. Boniface, Manitoba on March 4, 2023. She leaves to mourn her passing, her religious family and her sisters Marie, Marie-Thérèse, Noëlla, Cécile, Aline, Irène, Madeleine, her brothers Henri and Gérard, sisters-in law Yvette and Monique, brother-in law Dollard and many nieces and nephews. Simone was predeceased by her parents, her sister Marguerite, her brothers Norbert, Edouard, Jean, Denis, sisters-in-law and brothers-in law.
Simone was born on October 16, 1934 in Letellier, the 10th of a family of 15 children to Joseph Damphousse and Clémentine Dionne. She was baptized at St-Pie church in Letellier on October 17, 1934.
She attended the local school Inverness at Letellier from grade 1 to grade 11. Simone was a boarder at St. Joseph Academy in St. Boniface for grade 12 and then continued her education in the same building for 2 years of University courses given at Collège St-Joseph.
Simone entered the novitiate of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Outremont, Quebec on July 24, 1954. She made her first vows on the 22nd of August, 1956 and her perpetual vows on the 5th of August 1961.
Simone now known as Sister Gerard-Ernest and as a member of a teaching Order, taught at different parochial and public schools. Between 1968 and 1974, she was secretary and librarian at l’Institut Collégial, St-Jean-Baptiste.
Summer courses at the University of Manitoba, led her to a Bachelor of Arts in 1967 and Bachelor of Education in 1972. Beginning in 1975, Simone started in a new field of services for the community as secretary for the provincial administration. It all happened at a time when secretarial tasks were done with new equipment, which was quite a challenge at times. Simone was a very patient person and a perfectionist who succeeded in learning and putting into practice what became the norm for secretarial tasks. For 20 years, she was provincial secretary and a precious help to the financial office. During general assemblies of the congregation, Simone fulfilled other needs for example doing written translation and writing documents.
She loved to spend her holidays in nature, possibly at the lake where she found tranquility, birds, flowers, small animals, friends and members of her family. The best of the best leisure for Simone was reading and visits to the library were regular.
The Sisters of the Holy Names and the family wish to express their gratitude to the staff at Résidence Despins and the 3D unit at Actionmarguerite for the wonderful care given to Sister Simone.
The funeral mass was celebrated on March 10, 2023 at Résidence Despins, 151 Despins St., St.Boniface. Interment followed at St. Boniface Cemetery, Archibald St., Winnipeg, Manitoba.