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Family inspired P.G. resident's volunteering ways

Marion (Sauser) Van Caeseele was born in 1933 and grew up and went to a country school in the small town of Churchbridge, Saskatchewan.
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Marion Van Caeseele followed family to Prince George from Saskatchewan and stayed to make a life and raise her family.

Marion (Sauser) Van Caeseele was born in 1933 and grew up and went to a country school in the small town of Churchbridge, Saskatchewan.

She happened to meet Maurice Van Caeseele at a wedding dance in 1951; it was love at first sight however five years went by before they got married.

Maurice was born in 1924 in Langenburg, Saskatchewan; a Second World War veteran he joined the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and served in Great Britain.

When he returned home from the army he worked on the farm and at a garage before he married Marion, the love of his life and as they say - the rest is history.

Maurice had a cousin in Prince George so they moved west in 1956. Marion remembers the trip very well and said, "We traveled west to Golden and then took a big loop north which followed the Columbia River on what was known as the Big Bend Highway to Revelstoke. The current Rogers Pass road did not exist back in 1956 and the roads were pretty rough. The Rogers Pass route came into effect in 1962 along with the construction of the Mica Dam.

"We ended up in Cache Creek and then headed northwest to Prince George.

"When we arrived, we stayed with our relatives Albert and Pauline Degryse for two weeks and then bought a house on Wainwright Street. Our house was across the street from the old Watrous Street swimming pool; the only municipal outdoor swimming pool in Prince George at the time.

"The pool turned out to be a great summer gathering place for all the children until it was filled in with dirt and the site was turned into a senior's lawn bowling facility."

Upon their arrival in Prince George, Maurice worked for Dezell Construction. He then worked for Northern Forest Products which later became Domtar Chemicals and after 33 years of service, Maurice retired in 1989. During his career with Domtar, he drove heavy machinery and later operated the railroad tie processing mill.

When they first came to Prince George, Marion reminded me, "Wages were generally a buck an hour and the city limit ended at Carney Street. There were no shopping malls; everyone depended upon Northern Hardware and Blairs Outfitting on Fifth and George Street and the best produce in town was found at Roy Yip's store."

Marion worked at the Hudson's Bay Store until her twins came along. She became a stay at home mom until all of her children went to school. Marion said, "I got my driver's licence and worked part time at the Bay for gift money for the children.

"Years later I provided a day care service for other parents until I started a house keeping service for several select clients.

"We lived in our original house for 60 years and raised our six children there. First there were our twins Gerald (Corina) and Joan (Remi Boutin) and then Marilyn (Dave Emery), Neil (Norma), Shelly (Brian Hatcher) and Gloria (Frank Palazzo). They gave us 12 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

"We were married for 59 years when sadly Maurice passed away in the spring of 2015."

Over the years Marion volunteered for anything to do with her children at their schools. She spent time as a Brownie leader and volunteered with the boy scouts and the girl guides.

She proudly shows her Canadian Red Cross award for her 25 years of volunteer service at the Prince George blood donor clinic.

She is a 60-year charter member of the Catholic Women's League at St Mary's Parish.

One of her favorite projects was her 27-year membership in the Prince George Good Cheer Club until they disbanded about two years ago.

Maurice also gave back to his community and spent 22 years as a dedicated volunteer of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Marion reflected back and said, "Even though it was 26 years ago it still seems like yesterday that Maurice retired. We now had more time to travel and we took advantage of it.

"When our six children were little we bought a new family station wagon to get around in and eventually added a tent trailer and we went camping as a family.

"Sundays were set aside for church, car washing and then a routine family trip to the Dairy Queen on 20th Avenue.

"When Maurice retired we traveled on bus tours to Arizona and California with a stop at Disneyland. We traveled across Canada in a motorhome with his sister and brother-in-law and together we took an unforgettable bus trip to Alaska. We took yearly winter trips to Hawaii to enjoy the warm tropical sunshine.

"We flew to Europe and Cuba but our greatest trip was when we flew to Brisbane, Australia in 1990 to see our son who was teaching there.

"We had a happy life and we raised great children. We planted a huge garden every year and enjoyed the produce from it. It all seemed perfect until Maurice lost his good health to Parkinson's disease. He spent his final three years in Parkside and I visited him every day; he often said that he missed working with his tools and fixing things that needed fixing.

"I am now mostly confined to a wheelchair. I live at the Parkside care facility and the staff here are wonderful. I am content with visits from friends, my knitting, reading, jigsaw puzzles and watching curling and following the Toronto Blue Jays on TV. Most important though is my family. I don't know how I would manage without them. I am thankful for every new day."

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June birthdays that I know about: Matt Pauley, Marlene Ongman, Clarence Switzer, Diane Sultano, Ivor Buchi, Louise Bundock, Jean Liversidge, Gladys Thorp, Francine Bussieres, Ethel Rhodes, Carol Bailey, Linda Wenzel, Adele Mingay, Pauline Anderson, Lee Abra, Pam Meyer, Hilda Lipke, Otto Arndt, Connie Buchanan, Robert Reid, Mary Kirby, Lois Bittner, Frank Mauro, Helen Checkley, Gladys Goyer, Euclide Goyer, Lena Dumoulin, Dody Morehouse, John Wemyss, Heather Carter, Don Carpenter, Keith McLachlan, Rod Holmes, Skip Cleave, Margaret Girling, Margaret McConaghy, Marlene Pauls, Doreen Gray, Linda Parkinson, Dave Erickson, Judy Green, Elaine Lamb, Louise Little, Marilyn Rayner, Lena Rossi, Susan Schaefer, Erwin Stoll, Dave Stolar, Kay Wendland, Joan Griffiths, June Mackay, Ed Seidlitz, Judy Montgomery, Susan Santos, Terry Roy, Gena Fournier, Joyce Antonation and Colleen Lemon.

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June wedding Anniversaries: 64 years for Mike and Louise Bundock, 62 years for Walter and Marilyn Shelest, 57 years for Otto and Janice Arndt, 57 years for Arnold and Shirley Ballum, 53 years for Stan and Margaret Smith, 52 years for Dennis and Sandy Houston, 50 years for Otto and Lynn Kedl, 49 years for Terry and Heather Carter and three years for Mike and Helen Green.