A reflection on my aunt Mickey (younger sister of my mom).

                                                        Aunt Mickey (Mildred) May.

          My aunt Mickey is only 14 years older than I am. She was born in Quebec City, Quebec. She is a very physically active lady. She walks and takes a bus everywhere she would like to go. She still plays bowling with other ladies. She became a widow on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011, when her beloved husband, Lorenzo Dumais, peacefully died at the age of 75.

          On our last visit with her, Tom and I took some time to look over a number of her family albums. They were filled with such wonderful memories. I had the time of my life with my dear aunt!

          I want my family to know more about her since no one has met her due to the distance which separates all of us. Although, she has been in my life since my birth obviously. This is her in the middle of the photo with my mom on the left. They attended a school in Aylmer, Quebec.

                Here is another priceless picture of a younger aunt Mickey. I love this picture of her. I had asked a number of relatives on the Lacelle side through Facebook to no avail until our cousin Joanne Dumais one of her daughters told us it was a photograph of her mom! Fantastic!

   
          Her younger daughter Joanne told me that I had the very same laugh as her mom! I'll take that compliment any day! She really is a pretty lady which I admire enormously.

          Here are all of the sisters plus my aunt Betty who was married to uncle Don May, my mom's older brother. From the left, there is aunt Mickey, my mom, aunt Joyce and aunt Betty.

          This next photo is of her marriage to uncle Coco (Lorenzo) Dumais. One of my favorite days, a beautiful memory of attending her wedding. I don't remember the name of the church but it definitely would have been in Ottawa, Ontario. They were the couple that I looked up to for so many years, if not decades.

          To the left of aunt Mickey is my mom, all dressed up for this special occasion. I can still remember the blue feather-like - head covering she wore. To the right of uncle Coco is my dad looking so handsome in a suit and tie. My grandmother Lillian is immediately above my aunt Mickey with her long-time friend Margaret (Maggie) Ryan, who is above uncle Coco. Maggie is the one who owned the store/restaurant where my mom and dad first met.

          In the next photo which was taken in March of 1959, I believe they were holding their first daughter Nicole. (If not it could have been my brother Fern since they were born 10 days apart.)

          I should tell you a bit more about this beautiful couple. They had Nicole, their oldest daughter, then their son Daniel and a number of years later (about 14 or so) another girl Joanne joined their family. At what point they moved to the little Italy area of Ottawa, it was one street off from Booth, I wish I could remember the name! Oh well! They had a very deep backyard, where my uncle and his brother who lived a few houses over, played horseshoe throwing. I can still remember the "cling, cling" as they were very good at it. My uncle's family was quite large with many brothers and a few sisters.

          I should share a photo of uncle Coco in his younger year. A very handsome fellow don't you think?! This does look like a school photo. I'm unsure of who the other children are to his right.

          Uncle Coco was a carpet layer by profession. He worked long hours to provide for his family at a profession that gave him years of pain to his knees. Aunt Mickey worked at Woolworths on Sparks Street forever it seems. She was able to get me part-time work when I was 15 years old. Shhht! We fibbed as to my age! I was hired to lock the ladies' purses in a cabinet with key, and take care of the area, where they would come upstairs for their lunch or use the facilities. One of the fun things about working above the store was that in the summer, with the windows opened I could hear music playing below in the mall. Eventually, I was promoted to work in the back of the store where there was a cash register and the pet food, etc.

          Below is the photo which was used as the announcement of his passing.

          

DUMAIS, Lorenzo "Coco"
Peacefully surrounded by his family on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011, at the age of 75. Beloved husband of Mildred Dumais. Loving father to Nicole (Michel), Dan and Joanne (Francois). Proud Pépère of Michel (Josianne), Josée (Mario), Marc (Pascale), Paul, Jacob, Élodie, Malek and Audrée. Sadly missed by his sisters Noella, Georgette and Laurette and many nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to attend a Mass In Memory of Lorenzo on Tuesday November 1, 2011 at Ste. Genevieve Church (Canterbury at Arch St.) at 11 a.m. Special thanks to the staff at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus ICU for their care and compassion. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. www.kellyfh.ca

Published on October 31, 2011

          As the older child in my family, at times they would ask me to join them at their campsite. Although, I didn't remember that part when my aunt mentioned it to me. I did remember the size of a turtle that we found. It was enormous! So obviously, I was there:D

          Another memory that I have was that all of us went to Maggie Ryan's cottage in Aylmer, Quebec. The purpose of this particular visit was to stain the entire outside cottage. The men, uncle Coco, and my dad did most of that work. While the ladies and I worked on painting the small deck at the back of the cottage. I was so excited to help, although I was still pretty young:D Unfortunately, I knock the paint all over the deck floor which was grey, a beautiful tone of yellow!!!! My first painting horror!

          I do remember another visit to my aunt and uncle's, it was a Christmas party I believe and I was wearing white lipstick. My dad railed over me and who was able to comfort me? You guessed it, my aunt, Mickey. She could always bring you a dash of happiness, no matter what circumstances you were in.

          As you can see in the above picture, uncle Coco was fairly short. He is in the very middle of the people standing up. Begin on the left side of the photo is my mom, her sister Mickey, her older sister aunt Joyce, (an old girlfriend of my brother Michel), then myself and my uncle Don's second wife. Standing is my uncle Donald Lacroix (Joyce's husband), cousin Dan, his dad, uncle Coco, my brother Alain, my brother Michel holding their youngest daughter Joanne, and my dear uncle Don May. My dad nearly always took the pictures. Every time, uncle Don came to visit it was a special time as he lived in Winnipeg and we didn't see him very often. 

          Looking at the back of the chair reminds me of the numerous times, my mom and dad recovered their kitchen chairs as the covering would eventually rip mostly on the seats which were done as well. My parents repainted the kitchen area probably every second year. If you notice the short curtains in the back, this is where my mom would lift up a small window 24" x 24" (if that big) and put our clothes to dry in the spring, summer, fall or winter. It was always fun for the kids to see the clothes stiff as a board in the wintertime. Mom would iron every single piece of cloth whether it was clothes, dishtowels, or sheets. My poor mom always washed the floor of that kitchen on her hands and knees. No wonder her legs gave her so much pain later in life.

          I very much enjoyed visiting our aunts and uncles. They were always so nice to all of us kids. Aunt Mickey's family began approximately 10 years later than my folks. All of the cousins would come quite regularly around Christmas time and we would have dance parties, delicious desserts which my mom prepared. 

          This is a sweet picture of my dear aunt Mickey and myself. I love this photo of both of us. It was after my mom's funeral at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Hull (Gatineau) where we attended many masses as we grew up. This was at the luncheon for the family and our guests. 

           I hope you enjoyed this memory of aunt Mickey. I love her so very much, she easily could be my sister. We were so close in age.💗💗💗