Lucie Ouellette Bertrand

It is with broken hearts that the family of Lucie Ouellette Bertrand announces her passing, at the age of 74, on September 22, 2026, at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital in Longueuil.

She is mourned by Gilles Bertrand, her love and husband of the past 54 years; her children, France Bertrand (Daniel Desgens) and Daniel Bertrand (Julie Charest); as well as her beloved grandchildren, Emma, Ophélie and Eva. Her loss is also deeply felt by her sister Lorraine (late Gaston Michaud), her brothers, late Jules (Réjeanne Laberge), Richard (Francine Robidoux) and Robert (Claudine Robidoux), as well as many relatives and friends.

Lucie, nicknamed Lulu from childhood, was born in Lachine, where she lived for many years. She came from a family of five children born of the marriage of Raymond Ouellette and Jeanne Rouleau. In the summer, she would take the train to Noyan to camp on the family property, where a cottage was quickly built. She was surrounded there by long lines of cousins and neighbours.

As a young woman, she worked at the Woolworth store pastry counter. It was during that time that she met her sweetheart, Gilles Bertrand. In September 1972, the bells of Saints-Anges Church rang out to celebrate their marriage.

After raising her brood at home while also caring for children, she worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company, where she was affectionately nicknamed “Manmam” by her Haitian-born colleagues. She retired in 2007. Hammer in hand, she renovated, with friends, the old family cottage to make it her haven of peace on the banks of the Richelieu River. Many trips to the South followed in the company of her close friends.

No matter where she lived, the door to her heart and to her home was always open to welcome others without judgment and to offer the finest home-cooked feasts, a glass of red wine in hand. Her contagious good humour, joie de vivre and legendary laugh could be heard for miles around. She was skilled at operating a tractor and at gardening, loved birds and walks in nature. She passed on her passion for fishing at the end of the dock to all the children around her.

A wonderful mother and grandmother, present for her three granddaughters, she leaves them zany memories of “farting” on their bellies, camping in the living room, crêpe-making workshops, water-gun battles, Easter egg hunts, costumes more surprising than the last and, not to mention, her traditional evening gathering, dressed in her Sunday best in her Christmas bonnet.

A woman of great heart, immensely generous in her selflessness, every opportunity to help others was a good one for her. She served on the board of directors of the education organization Au Cœur des Mots in Lacolle. She also volunteered her time at the library, at festive municipal activities and at the Guignolée of Noyan. In 2017, she took an active part in the TV show La petite séduction to showcase her hometown—notably Fritz Kaiser cheeses, which she loved introducing to anyone willing to taste them.

The children at Petit Clocher Elementary School in Clarenceville benefited from her warm hugs through her involvement with the Breakfast Club. Cooking was her way of getting involved, whether for the Lachine Canoe Club or to help those affected by the Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac flooding. Nothing could stop her.

Behind her warrior’s armour lay rheumatoid arthritis, an illness that led to emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis. Despite her weakened lungs, she showed herself to be the strong woman of the Gospel.

Family members will receive condolences on Sunday, October 18, 2026 (see below, for all details).

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