Mrs. Thérèse Durivage (born Duguay)

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother Thérèse on November 19th, days only before her 87th birthday.

Daughter of the late Anna Bauer and the late Georges Napoléon Duguay, and wife of the late Normand Durivage, she is survived by her children: Josée, Monik (Daniel), François (Francyne) and Marc (Jocelyne), her granddaughters Arianne and Kim, as well as Laure, Chloé, Sara-Éliane, Léa, Katherine, Alexandre, Ysabel, Vincent; her great-grandchildren, her sisters-in-law Durivage: Suzanne (Gary) and Yolande (Jean), her brother in-law Gilles as well as numerous parents, friends, nieces and nephews.

Barely 15 months after the loss of Normand, she was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Despite the somber prognosis and the slow progression of the illness she defied time and battled until the end, peacefully at home, surrounded by her daughters.

After her marriage in 1956, she supports her husband’s efforts in establishing himself as an electrical contractor. From then on the task of managing their children and their home become her focus; to which she devoted herself entirely. And she did a remarkable job, she was the instigator, the organiser, the one with the ideas. She encouraged and supported her children who were afforded all the possibilities be it their studies, their leasure time, school-related activities, summer camps or trips.

Our parents remained a united and loving couple despite having different interests: trips and cultural activities for one, fishing and hunting for the other.
They were able to blend their family life and their life as a couple. Feminist and independent, our mother was always able to find some time for herself.
Endowed with an open mind, she was interested in everything contemporary: music, design, architecture, dance, theatre, fashion. A longtime Montreal World Film Festival and Montreal En Lumière fan, as well as a subscriber to numerous theatres, she never hesitated to go to a movie or a restaurant on her own.

A crossword puzzle aficionado, an avid reader of detective stories and particularly newspapers (as her longtime subscriptions to the Devoir, la Presse and the Gazette can attest) she kept abreast of world news; a daily morning ritual she maintained all her life.

She invested herself in various associations: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Canada-Japan Association, to name a few.

Over the past 40 years she traveled extensively, alone or part of a group to: Australia, Turkey, Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, the Artic and fabulous Japan.

She undoubtedly inherited her courage, determination and thirst for adventure from a barely adult German mother that crossed the Atlantic, on her own, in order to forge a new life in Canada.

Her passing leaves behind a giant void and we miss her already.

The family will receive condolences
Thursday November 28th from 2pm to 5pm and from 7pm to 9pm
Friday November 29th from 9am to 10am
Complexe funéraire Alfred Dallaire / Memoria
1120, Jean-Talon St. East, Montréal

The funeral will be held on Friday November 29th at 11am
Église de la Visitation
1847 Gouin blvd. East, Montréal

The burial will take place at the Repos St-François d’Assise in the strictest privacy.

Josée and Monik wish to sincerely thank Dr. Marie-Josée Caron for her kind ear as well as the staff of the palliative homecare.

As expressions of sympathy, donations in memory of Thérèse Durivage to
Petits frères des pauvres would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.petitsfreres.ca/en/give/