Norma Shirley LeFRANÇOIS

LeFRANÇOIS, Norma Shirley
(née Pawson)
Norma went to be with her Lord on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. She was the beloved wife of T.A. (Al) LeFrançois and the loving mother of Cia (Bill Savage), Tim (Vicki Fiander), and Amy (Jimmy Walker). She leaves seven cherished grandchildren: Anastasia, Corben and Hamish Matsell-Savage; Richard and Haley LeFrançois; and Hayden and Indigo Walker. She also leaves her brother-in-law Andrew LeFrançois of Cobourg and her sister-in-law Sylvia Pawson of Pointe Claire, as well as many beloved nephews and nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces. She was predeceased by her parents Herbert and Mary Pawson; her brothers Oakley, Carmen and Dewey; as well as her sister Beryl Galardo. Raised a northern girl in Sudbury, Norma had a passion for nature, for her spiritual beliefs and for her friends and family. She was a doer and a creator, making the world more beautiful, whether she was in her gardens (flower and vegetable), her kitchen, sewing room or the world at large. In her younger years, she enjoyed travelling with other Baptist youth to World Rallies and visited many foreign destinations with them, and indeed it was through these friends that she met her husband, Al. Upon their marriage in 1957, Norma gave up her work at the CRA devoting herself to looking after her family and proving to be an exceptional homemaker. She was a great cook, baker, gardener, seamstress, rug hooker, artist, lover of animals, friend, confidant, advisor, wife and mother. Proud to be a Canadian Baptist, Norma was very active in the Baptist church and in the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec Convention. Over the years, she served in many capacities: as a Sunday school teacher, a leader in the Canadian Girls in Training program, President of the Baptist Circle of Missions, Treasurer of Women's Missions for the Ottawa Baptist Association, Elder and Pastoral Care Leader, to name a few. Due to Alzheimer's, she has already been missed for several years by her many fellow baptists, her friends and her family. A celebration of her life will be held at Bethany Baptist Church at 2 p.m. on what would have been her 89th birthday, Saturday, June 18, 2016.