Cecile Gracia Mondoux Frackleton, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, wife, friend and confidante, passed away on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the Temiskaming Hospital. She was 85 years old.
Cecile was born on July 3,1929 in Schumacher, Ontario to Valmore Mondoux and Bernadette Marie St. Louis.
She attended Ste. Thérèse and St. Patrick elementary schools in Cobalt, and then Cobalt High School, where she played basketball and many other sports.
After high school, Cecile worked in restaurants, in the tobacco fields in Southern Ontario, as well as at the Splint Factory making matchsticks. Later in life, she worked at the Cobalt Legion as a bartender, at Tim Horton’s in New Liskeard, and as a crossing guard at St. Patrick’s school in Cobalt.
She met her husband, Walter in the spring of 1949 and they married two months later. Together, they had four children, many friends, and a lifetime of wonderful memories.
Never losing her appreciation for sports, Cecile loved to bowl, and won many trophies. She participated in log-sawing competitions with her sister, Lillian, played broomball and took every opportunity to play cards. She was one of the best cribbage players around, and could rarely be beaten.
Although she did not pursue post-secondary education, Cecile was fond of crossword puzzles, and had a command of the English language that would challenge any scholar. Crossword puzzle books were devoured with ease, as well as many high school literature books she read for her youngest child (thanks, mom!).
Cecile was also a surrogate mother and friend to many children (family or otherwise), and provided them with sage advice, a sympathetic voice and guidance.
She was a costume designer, a bugle player, a home remedy doctor, a story and joke teller extra ordinaire, a doodler, a berry picker and a fisher(wo)man. She could see through walls, sing songs, remove slivers and heal any wound.
Everyone who met her liked Cecile. Her sense of humour and her humanity drew people close to her. She was kind, caring and nurturing. She was someone on whom you could count. She is loved by many.
Cecile will be sadly missed. With her passing, Heaven is a better place today.
Cecile was preceded in death by her parents Valmore and Bernadette Mondoux, her husband, Walter, her sisters Yvette, Alice, Jeanne and Lillian, her brother, Orphelia (“Buffer”), and her grandson, Christian.
Cecile leaves behind: her children, Sheila (Brian), Brenda (Jeff), Fraser (Donna) and Kirby; her brother, Rene; 8 grandchildren; 5 great-grandkids and 2 great-great-grandkids and many nieces and nephews.
A gathering to celebrate her life will be held on Wednesday October 29, 2014 from 1pm at the Latchord Legion Hall.