Bernadette MCLAUGHLIN

1926 - 2022

BERNADETTE McLAUGHLIN (née de Sainte Marie) MD, MSc, CSPQ, FRCPC June 11, 1926 - April 15, 2022 With profound sadness, we announce that Bernadette passed away peacefully in her sleep in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on April 15, at the age of almost 96. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, William Harold McLaughlin (Bill); her brother, Jean de Sainte Marie and his wife, Mithé; and her brother, Henri-Dominique. She is survived by her loving children, Michèle and Bruce Richardson (Victoria, B.C.), Patricia and Robert Palladino (Kirkland, QC) and Geoffrey and Nida McLaughlin (Toronto, ON); her grandchildren, Andrew, David, James, Emma, Isabella, Geneviève (Simon Ta) and Gregory; and her great-grandchildren, Keira and Liam. Also mourning her loss are her brothers and sisters in France: Marie-Madeleine Gillet, Monique de Sainte Marie, François et Françoise de Sainte Marie, and Maurice and Brigitte de Sainte Marie, and their families. Bernadette received her medical degree in Paris in 1953. She earned an MSc in microbiology at the Université de Montréal and completed a residency at the Royal Victoria Hospital while raising a young family. She specialized in microbiology at Ste-Justine Hospital and taught microbiology at the Université de Montréal. She retired in 1991 after serving as the Medical Director of the Virology Laboratory of Ontario Public Health in Toronto. She grew up in Paris and endured the hardships of the Second World War. In 1951, she met a Canadian veteran, Bill McLaughlin, at Combloux in the French Alps and married him soon after. They enjoyed several years traveling with their young daughters Michèle and Patricia between France, England and Spain until they moved to Montreal, where Geoffrey was born. She enjoyed traveling, reading, British mysteries, politics, crosswords, chocolate and desserts of all kinds. She was multi-talented: as well as being an accomplished scientist, she was a wonderful cook, seamstress and knitter, could repair any electrical appliance, and had perfected the art of the Gallic shrug. She greatly enjoyed her family and loved having them visit from all over North America and France. She was the heart of our family and will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) or Moisson Montréal. Visitation will take place on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Collins Clarke MacGillivray White, 222 Autoroute 20, Pointe-Claire, QC, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Chapel service will be held on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 11 a.m.