Obituary of Ethel DesRoches

 Marie Emilienne Ethel DesRoches:

Marie Emilienne Ethel DesRoches, daughter of Anna Julia and Eddie G DesRoches of Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, passed away just weeks before her 100^th birthday.

 Born on April 11^th, 1922, Ethel was the 2^nd oldest of 9 children and was pre-deceased by 7: Augustin DesRoches, Adele Arsenault, Zelma Caissie, Gerard DesRoches, Euclid DesRoches, Elmer DesRoches, and Bernice Arsenault. She is survived by John DesRoches of Mississippi.

Ethel was the adored and much loved “Mataunte” to 29 nieces and nephews, and over 50 Great nieces and nephews. She lived in Miscouche, P.E.I. until 1961, when she moved with most of her family to Bay Ridges {Pickering,} Ontario. She was employed in the accounting department of Eaton’s in Toronto for many years. Ethel was always a very religious woman, and was very involved with volunteering at the Holy Redeemer School and church, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Orchard Villa Retirement Home.  She especially enjoyed preparing Holy Redeemer children for their 1^st Communion and Confirmation Sacraments, as well as organizing Rosary prayer circles, and early morning masses in the school gym, years before the Holy Redeemer Church was built.

She and her sister Bernice, would crochet hundreds of colorful crosses to be distributed to children of the school for Easter and 1^st Communion celebrations.

Ethel was also a driving force behind the annual collection and donation of 100’s of pounds of clothing and shoes that were transported to orphanages and missions across Africa.

If you were considered close enough to Ethel to be invited over to the house in Bay Ridges, you were always prepared for the possibility that a game of SCAT [card game] would break out. And if you were a regular visitor, you probably had your own mason jar of coins stashed away in a special location, where it would reside with many other personalized jars, in anticipation for the games to begin.

In her lifetime Ethel asked very little for herself…and was ALWAYS giving of her time and energy in the heartfelt pursuit of helping others. She will be DEARLY missed, and the treasured memories we have of her, will continue to bring a tender smile to the many faces of those who knew and loved her.

Au Revoir Mataunte.

A Funeral Service will be held at the DeStefano Funeral Home on Monday March 7th 2022 at 11:00am.   Interment will follow at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.

For those unable to attend in person, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIVESTREAM of the Service.