OBITUARY
Frances « Joan » Moreau
December 25, 1919 – October 18, 2018
Frances Gwendoline “Joan” MacIntosh Davies Moreau 98 years.
“In my life I have found two things of priceless worth – learning and loving. Nothing else – not fame, not power, not achievement for its own sake – can possibly have the same lasting value. For when your life is over, if you can say “I have learned” and “I have loved” you will also be able to say “I have been happy.” – Arthur C. Clarke
It is with heartfelt sadness the we announce the passing of Frances Gwendoline “Joan”MacIntosh Davies Moreau age 98 on Oct 18, 2018 in the Cumberland Regional Health Center, Amherst, N.S.
Born in Halifax on Christmas Day 1919, Mom was the youngest daughter of Laurie Alexander and Grace (Nichols) MacIntosh. Besides her parents she was pre-deceased by her first husband, Lieutenant Vaughan Ninian Davies, DSC RNR of Wallasey, Cheshire England in 1942, her second husband Thomas Elmer Moreau River Hebert, N.S. in 1996, her brother Donald Alexander MacIntosh of Richmond B.C., twin sisters Sybil McQueen of Vancouver, B.C., Sylvia MacPherson of Three Fathom Harbour N.S. and by her beloved eldest son Laurie Anthony(Tony) Davies of Scarborough, Ont in 1992. Joan was the last remaining member of her immediate family.
Mom made her first Atlantic Ocean crossing from Halifax at the age of 14 months with her mother, a World War I nursing sister and war bride on a family holiday to England. The love of travel was a joy for Mom who made many crossings across the seas and other countries in the world. Her home in the Lake District of England during WWII was forever known to her as her home of the heart.
During her teens, Mom spent many hours in the art galleries of London, at the Proms in Albert Hall, the Royal Ballet at Sadler’s Wells and the many plays at the Old Vic. Her love of art and music was passed on to her children. Mom was a prolific and eloquent writer, a gift that she shared freely with so many people and especially with her children. We will cherish those writings forever.
During the summer of 1939, Mom and her first husband were posted to Antwerp, Belgium where they silently and unselfishly helped the resistance in getting people safely out of Germany and other European countries to safety in England. It was many many years later that Mom shared this with us. She was never one to blow her own horn. She said,” I was young, fearless and that was just what you did!”
After her husband was killed in 1942 on a flight to Benghazi Libya, Mom was presented at Buckingham Palace to posthumously receive his medals from King George VI, DSC for Bravery and Courage on his many flights over the Mediterranean. She also vividly remembers giving birth to her first son during a terrible air raid where she was constantly being moved from the top of the delivery table to underneath the delivery table and will forever remember that the assisting nurse kept singing, “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire!” Oh the experiences you had Mom.
In 1947, Mom returned to Canada, a widow with two very young children and settled in Centrelea outside Bridgetown Nova Scotia, where she met and married the late Reverend Thomas E. Moreau with whom she had five sons and adopted a daughter. The Valley became a part of her life and it was there that she learned the many practical things of life that she had not had to do before.
Mom sang, loved to dance and had an unshakeable faith that carried her through many happy and sad times. Her sense of humour was enviable and she was always able to laugh at herself.
Mom was the founder of Al-Anon Groups in Springhill and River Hebert, Nova Scotia as well as being a Eucharistic Minister and Lector in the Roman Catholic Church. She was received on March 22, 1987, as a member of the Secular Franciscan Order of which she was most proud.
Mom’s sense of compassion and love for the underdog was a great example for all her children, a lesson we will never forget.
Mom is survived by sons Mario (Denise) Bathurst N.B., Christopher (Linda) Bridgetown, N.S., Nicholas (Jerry), Venice, Florida, Peter (Ron) Dartmouth, N.S., Paul (Karen) Cole Harbour, N.S., daughters Heather Wineberg, Toronto and Israel, Margaret, London Ont., 14 grandchildren and many, many great and great-great grandchildren.
A very special thank you to nurses and staff on the Burke Ave Wing at Gables Nursing Home for your care and genuine love for a very special regal lady, and to the compassionate and caring nurses Brianna, Hannah and Kristina on the Medical Floor at the Cumberland Regional Health Center. You are the walking angels of this earth. Mom’s special angel Marnie provided Mom with unconditional love, many big hugs and kisses, caring and kind hands and made Mom smile every day. She adored you Marnie.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Snow’s Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Dr. Halifax, N.S. with service to be held on Saturday, Oct 27, 2018 at 2:00 pm. Reception to follow service. A private family interment will take place at a later date.
Show Your Support
Share Obituary
share to facebook
share by email
share link
Receive Notifications
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Frances Joan Moreau 2018..
Décès pour la Ville: halifax, Province: Nova Scotia