Obituary
It is with such great sadness that we announce the passing of Berchmans “Bert” Joseph Lalonde on September 8, 2020, after a valiant fight against a myriad of serious health issues over the past year that ultimately took his life. His passing comes mere months after his wife of almost 56 years, Rosemary, was suddenly taken on May 27th, 2020.
Bert was born in the small community of Chelmsford, Ontario (located just outside of Sudbury) on April 3, 1931, the son of two French-Canadian parents, Ovilla and Elizabeth Lalonde. They moved to Sudbury, and Bert grew up in a large family of 9 siblings accompanied by an extensive, extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. (So similar to mom.) Growing up within the French-Canadian community in Sudbury, dad learned to speak both French and English, was raised in the Catholic faith, and at an early age, developed a love of pets and sports, playing hockey in the winter. He began to develop a passion for golf in the summer, by first caddying at The Fairway Golf and Country Club, his first job, and then learning how to play. His older sister Dolores recently mentioned what a wonderful little brother he was at the time. She said he was so kind, fun to play with, and always wanted to do whatever he could to help his mother.
His father died when Bert was only 17, which meant going to work at that young age to help support his mom and family. He worked in both the local mine in Sudbury and put his handsome good looks to use modelling on TV for a local men’s wear store! After a couple of “near-death” experiences working in the mine, he decided to head west to start a new life in Alberta after exploring Vancouver’s options.
Bert’s golfing skills had improved so much too, by the time he moved to Alberta, that he was hired as a club pro in both Red Deer and then as a club pro at what was then called the Regal Golf Club in Calgary (now known as The Winston Golf Club.)
Calgary’s job led to his meeting ‘the love of his life’ during a Sienna Club dance for “older” Catholic singles in the spring of 1964. They went on their first date on April 12th, and after that, it only took a 3-week courtship for dad to decide he was ready to get married, as was mom! He proposed to Rosemary Gerwing on May 4th, 1964. Mom said, “Yes!” They were married just a few months later on July 11th, 1964, in mom’s hometown of Lake Lenore, Saskatchewan.
Over the next several years, their marriage evolved through several highs and lows – Bert tried his hand on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, they lost a child (Fred) in childbirth, and then they adopted two children, a son, Thomas, in 1967, and a daughter, Anneliese, in 1969. Once “the kids” arrived, Bert decided to look for employment that was steady year-round. He eventually ended up working for the City of Calgary in the Parks and Recreation Department.
In 1979, Rosemary and Bert decided to move to Kelowna, where they had purchased an apple orchard. This decision led to them spending the rest of their lives in Kelowna. Bert went “back to his roots”, so to speak, and began life anew as an orchardist, which was maybe meant to be as his parents came from farming families, as did Rosemary’s. For the next 35 years, dad worked the orchard, growing mainly apples, along with a variety of other fruits for personal use. He helped mom cultivate a beautiful yard, filled with all kinds of gorgeous flowers and a vegetable garden that produced an abundance of delicious and nutritious vegetables every year. They sold the apples commercially and in the yard from a very simple “fruit stand” (which was a picnic table). Dad did the harvesting of the fruit, and mom did the selling and chatting with the customers (something she loved), many of whom became friends after they started coming back year after year to buy apples, cherries, or whatever else was available at any given time.
Being on an orchard gave dad the chance to foster his love of pets. Whether it was in Calgary or on the orchard, it was thanks to him that we could enjoy the wonderful love and friendship that having dogs (and a few cats) around can bring. The dogs especially brought him great companionship out in the orchard and he really enjoyed having them around.
For Bert and Rosemary, at the core of their relationship was their Catholic faith. That’s how they met and as a married couple, they were such dedicated parishioners both in Calgary, at St. Cecilia’s Parish, and then in Kelowna, at St. Pius X Parish, right up until each of them passed away. They dedicated their lives to living their faith, raising their kids in the faith, and donating their time and treasure to their faith community.
For dad, his church involvement included taking part in and supporting all kinds of annual church events and activities at St. Cecilia’s parish in Calgary, many of which mom helped to organize. He also became a member of The Knights of Columbus, helped to form a choir with mom at St. Pius X Church in Kelowna, donating fruit and time to help at the annual church bazaar, and worked with a really dedicated team of friends (parishioners and non-parishioners) to collect, store, and pack supplies for the charity Canadian Food for Children. For over a decade, mom and dad ran the Kelowna Chapter of Canadian Food for Children, many of those years directly from their basement. They would collect food, clothing, and other donated items from all across the Okanagan, driving in their van (which often broke down) to pick up donations, bring them to their house or other locations to pack, and then deliver them to Penticton, where they were sent to needy families in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia…wherever the goods were needed.
In trying to live their Catholic faith as best they could, they regularly attended daily mass throughout the week. They prayed before every meal and said a repertoire of morning and evening prayers to thank God for all the good that had happened that day and to pray for everyone they knew who might need some divine help or intervention. Their daily prayers also included saying the rosary together – something dad missed so much once mom passed away.
But there was more to their lives than just prayer, of course. And for dad, over the years, when he wasn’t working, he really enjoyed playing cards with mom and friends (cribbage and bridge mainly), helping mom host and then go to parties, listening to us play the piano, taking us to so many different practices and games for all the sports we both played, taking us to music lessons and music competitions when we were young, going to local concerts, family camping, travelling to “sun spots” in the winter with mom and relatives, skiing, bowling, watching sports on TV, eating sweet snacks – especially milk chocolate caramels and ice cream, and playing the sport he was most passionate about – golf! He had such a natural swing, finely tuned over many years as a club professional and avid player. Golf career highlights included a “Hole-In-One!”, a low score of 68, and a trip to play The Old Course at St. Andrew’s in Scotland for his 75th birthday (A trip with mom and I.) He was even able to play one last game with me just last summer, in August of 2019, in spite of all his physical ailments and challenges. It is now one of the most cherished games we ever played together.
Since dad passed away, so many of our family friends and relatives have written to us with reflections on dad and their relationship with him and universally, they have all said dad was one of the nicest, kindest, gentlest, sweetest, and most patient men you could ever meet. Compared to mom’s very outgoing nature, he had a quieter personality, and he was a man of fewer words than mom. But he had a wonderful, folksy sense of humour, down to earth wisdom. He really enjoyed a good joke and laugh, loved to gently tease family and friends, and was friendly to all. People enjoyed his company and hospitality and he their’s. He was extremely “handy” around the house, yard, and orchard and could fix almost anything himself. And he was also a man of incredible generosity, and so much of what he and mom made, over the years, was used to support the church, various charities, and to support their kids and grandkids. They both gave so abundantly of their love and their treasure. They spent very, very little on themselves. The focus of their lives was “to give.”
In the spirit of that legacy of giving, for those of you who might be interested in making a donation in dad’s honour, we would like to suggest a donation to either:
a) The Alphonse Gerwing Foundation or
b) Canadian Food For Children – Okanagan Division
For those of you who may not be familiar with the Alphonse Gerwing Foundation, it was a Foundation started in honour of mom’s brother, Al Gerwing. The organization is dedicated to funding humanitarian-development projects, primarily in Brazil, following up on the humanitarian work that Al did there when he was alive. It is an organization near and dear to mom and dad’s hearts and they would fully support and encourage any donations to them. More info can be found through this link: thealgerwingfoundation.com/index.shtml.
And since mom and dad worked in support of Canadian Food For Children, the Okanagan Division for so many years, I know dad would also fully support any donations to them. The link to their website is: canadianfoodforchildren.ca/ (Okanagan Division)
Lastly, Anneliese and I and our families would like to thank, from the bottom of our hearts:
a) the wonderful, supportive staff at Northwood Retirement Home for all they did to support us through such a difficult time prior to and after mom passed away
b) the amazing team of Interior Health Care support workers and nurses who came to support both mom and dad over the past 6 months.
c) All our dear family and friends who have so abundantly blessed us with words of encouragement and support, food, visits, and lots and lots of prayers. Thank you so very, very much for all of that.
d) And Fathers Peter, Gerald, and Wayne for all your help and support through some very emotional and difficult times over the past several months, weeks, and the last few days.
We will be forever grateful for the love, care, and support we have received from all of you!
Bert is survived by his son Thomas (Jenny) Lalonde and granddaughter Teresa, and his daughter Anneliese (Tim) McFadden and grandchildren Kieran, Gabrielle and Callum, and his older sister Dolores Sime and his younger brother Ron (Anne) Lalonde. He is predeceased by his beloved wife Rosemary, sister Yvette (Albert) Ackland, sister Germaine (Albert) Lafleur, brother Leo Lalonde, brother-in-law Gordon Sime, sister Madeleine Lalonde, sister Claire (Bill) Merrick, sister Jeanne (Enzo) Contado.
Dad’s Celebration of Life (prayers and eulogies) will be held at St. Pius X Parish in Kelowna, B.C. on Tuesday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. His funeral will follow at the same location on Wednesday, September 16 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at Kelowna Memorial Cemetary on Thursday, September 17 at 11:30 a.m. (family and friends can join us as long as social distancing protocols are followed). If you would like to attend in person, please contact Thomas Lalonde at papayapearls@hotmail.com.
The Celebration of Life and Funeral services will be live-streamed.
Vigil Prayers: livestream.com/accounts/6330177/events/9303485
Funeral Mass: livestream.com/accounts/6330177/events/9303490
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Berchmans Bert Joseph Lalonde April 3 1931

September 8 2020..

everden rust funeral services & cremation

Death notice for the town of: Kelowna, Province: Colombie britanique

death notice Berchmans Bert Joseph Lalonde April 3 1931

September 8 2020

mortuary notice Berchmans Bert Joseph Lalonde April 3 1931

September 8 2020