Catherine Levasseur

Catherine Levasseur 1928 to 2025 

Catherine Levasseur was 96 and 3/4 years old when she died. She weighed 100 lbs. most of her life. She was Irish and was a fiery woman. You did not mess with mama. She was very compassionate and loving to everyone she met. She was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. Her mother Mary Shields married John McAuley at 17 and died in childbirth at the age of 33. She had 14 babies, but six of the babies died in childbirth or shortly after. Mom was very close to her siblings all her life. She was very loving and kept her friends all her life. The only surviving member of the McAuley family is Etta McKeown. 

Cathy moved to Nottingham at the age of 19 when her sister Madge got married. Cathy was being teased by her sisters. Not only did she not have any babies, but she wasn't even married despite being 26 which was very shocking to the family. They warned her she was going to be an old maid.

My father, John Levasseur, was a soldier in the Canadian Forces posted in Nottingham. Shortly after he met Cathy in December 1953 and they married on April 30, which was 3 days before mom turned 27. A year and a half later, the two boarded a ship with six-month-old Susan for Canada where mom spent the next 26 years as a military wife. John had postings to Trenton, St Jean, PQ, St Hubert, back to Trenton and finally to Ottawa where they spent the last 48 years.

Mom and dad were devout Catholics and loved to go to mass. They took in foreign language students for many years and often brought the students to mass. Families knew in advance to ask to stay at Cathy's house as she was very kind and patient with those learning English. She had many invitations all over the world for people who invited her back to their homes. Mom never took advantage of their invitations.

Whenever she travelled, she always travelled to visit her sisters in England and Ireland. Bell Canada stocks maintained their value as mom spent hundreds of dollars calling her sisters each month. She liked to keep in touch with family. She always had a cuppa ready for anyone who visited her home. She had a drinking problem though. She drank 10-12 cups of tea a day.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Barrhaven Food Cupboard. 

Her favorite saying was, "May you be an hour in heaven before the devil knows you're dead.

We thank Prince of Wales Manor for their caring staff.