1.2. Ossie (Ozias) MEILLEUR, naissance 27 avril 1925 à Fisher Branch MB, p/m Mr & Mrs Pierre Pépin, décès 4 octobre 1987 à 62 ans, "of massive heart attack", sépulture à Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill ON. (1) Marié(e) 11 août 1951 à St. Mary's Cathedral, Calgary AB, Patricia SCHROEDER. 5 enfants (4 fils, une fille).
(2) Marié(e) 13 février 1982 à Thornhill ON, Mae Philomina (McKENNA) PALMER, naissance 31 août 1939 à County Monaghan, Ireland (Europe). 2 enfants.

1.2.1a. Brian Conrad MEILLEUR, naissance 26 juillet 1952 à Calgary AB.

1.2.2a. Sharon A. MEILLEUR, naissance 13 octobre 1953 à Edmonton AB.

1.2.3a. Allan G. MEILLEUR, naissance 20 avril 1956 à Regina SK, décès 1970 à Toronto ON "in a car accident", sépulture à Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill ON.

1.2.4a. Mark A. MEILLEUR, naissance 13 novembre 1959 à Montreal QC.

1.2.5a. Christopher Ian MEILLEUR, naissance 3 février 1966 à Winnipeg MB.

1.2.6b. Liam Michael MEILLEUR, naissance 26 mars 1965 à Paget, Bermuda.

1.2.7b. Susan Mary MEILLEUR, naissance 1 avril 1969 à Paget, Bermuda.

1.3. Régina MEILLEUR, naissance 8 décembre 1927 à Fisher Branch MB, p/m Ovila Meilleur & Zéphérina Gauthier. Marié(e) 16 octobre 1947 à Fisher Branch MB, William "Bill" RILEY, naissance 1924 (fils de Fred RILEY et Florence PARKINSON), décès juin 2000 à Beausejour District Hospital, Beausejour MB, at 76 "after a lengthy battle with cancer", funérailles 12 à Russell Funeral Home in Beausejour MB with Fr. Owen Steeves officiating (nécrologie), emploi(s) : Winnipeg Transit for 28 years. 2 enfants.

1.3.1. Judy RILEY. Conjoint(e) Allan ____.

1.3.2. James RILEY. Conjoint(e) Natalie ____. 3 enfants (3 fils) : Adam, Matthew et Jeffrey.

1.4. Corry (Couronne ou Coronna) MEILLEUR, naissance 6 mai 1928 à St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg MB, p/m Joseph Gauthier & Mathilde Meilleur. Marié(e) 30 septembre 1949 à Winnipeg MB, par rév. Cahill, Paul Allan OLYNYK, naissance 12 juin 1924 à Vonda SK, décès 28 octobre 1995 à Ste-Anne-des-Chênes MB, 71 ans, sépulture à Green Acres Memorial Gardens, Winnipeg MB.

1.4.1. Bob (Robert Paul) OLYNYK, naissance 23 octobre 1951 à St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg MB. (1) Marié(e) 4 mars 1978, Nancy WILKES. (2) Marié(e) 12 octobre 1986 à Menneapolis MN, Nancy HERMEIER, naissance 14 novembre 19??. 2 enfants (2 fils).

1.4.1.1. Josef Edward OLYNYK, naissance 14 avril 1988 à Winnipeg MB.
1.4.1.2. Lukas Paul OLYNYK, naissance 29 juillet 1990 à Winnipeg MB.

1.5. Lou (Noella) Béatrice MEILLEUR, naissance 23 décembre 1929 à St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, MB, p/m Édouard Boulet & son épouse (?), décès 29 juillet 2010 à Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie ON (de Toronto ON), âge : 80 ans, funérailles 3 août à St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Barrie ON. Marié(e) 23 octobre 1956 à Morinville AB, Albin Ralph KIESER, naissance 21 mai 1934 à Morinville AB. 2 enfants.

1.5.1. Byron Nelson KIESER, naissance 9 septembre 1965 à Toronto ON. Marié(e) 17 mai 1991 à Toronto ON, Jacqueline MITCHELL, naissance 21 octobre 1965 à Norton, England (Europe).

1.5.2. Jacqueline Delia KIESER, naissance 7 décembre 1967 à Toronto ON. Conjoint(e) Reay JESPERSON.

1.6. Yvette Gloria MEILLEUR, naissance 19 novembre 1931 à Fisher Branch MB, p/m Ernest Meilleur & Florence Pépin. Marié(e) 20 mars 1980 à Toronto ON, Tom (Thomas) NEIL, naissance 16 janvier 1930 à Ireland (Europe).

1.6.1. Stewart NEIL, naissance 6 janvier 1965 à Toronto ON.

1.7. Larry (Hilaire) Philippe MEILLEUR, naissance 8 septembre 1933 à Fisher Branch MB, décès 11 mars 2010 à Winnipeg MB, âge : 76 ans, funérailles 20 à Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Winnipeg MB (nécrologie), emploi(s) : Corrections Officer at Stoney Mountain Penitentiary. Marié(e) 9 novembre 1957 à Fisher Branch MB, Elsie Evelyn BUCKLEY, naissance 5 avril 1937 à Lucky Lake SK (fille de Harry BUCKLEY et Effie GERMAN). 2 enfants.

1.7.1. Keven Douglas MEILLEUR, naissance 24 août 1964, baptême p/m Tony Chudyk & Elsi Korbutiak.

1.7.2. Kimberley MEILLEUR.

1.8. Adéline Juliette MEILLEUR, naissance 15 mars 1937 à Fisher Branch MB, p/m Albert & Jeanne Pépin Meilleur, décès 19 mai 2012 à Oshawa ON, âge : 75 ans, "peacefully", funérailles 25 à Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Oshawa ON. Marié(e) 3 août 1957 à Toronto ON, divorcé(e) en 1987, Ralph John McFARLIN, naissance 5 février 1935 à Brandon MB. 4 enfants (2 fils, 2 filles).

1.8.1. Roger Edward McFARLIN, naissance 13 mai 1958 à Toronto ON.

1.8.2. Karen Janice McFARLIN, naissance 24 juillet 1960 à Toronto ON. Marié(e) 17 septembre 1988 à Scarborough ON, Mark Stephen McCABE, naissance 13 décembre 1958 à Scarborough ON.

1.8.3. Gayle Corrine McFARLIN, naissance 30 juillet 1962 à Scarborough ON. Marié(e) 15 juillet 1989 à Scarborough ON, Colin Andrew CAMPBELL, naissance à Picton ON.

1.8.4. Gregory Corrine McFARLIN, naissance 26 décembre 1964 à Scarborough ON.

1.9. Laure Anne MEILLEUR, naissance 15 juillet 1939 à Fisher Branch MB. (1) Conjoint(e) Ike VANDERMERE. (2) Conjoint(e) Dick MEANS.

1.10. Aurèle MEILLEUR, naissance mars 1942 à Fisher Branch MB, décès 25 mai 1942 Fisher Branch MB, 2 mois, funérailles rev. Léo Marchand, sépulture au Parish cemetery, Fisher Branch MB.

The Moise and Delia MEILLEUR Family

by Corry (Couronne) Olynyk

My father, Moise, came to Fisher Branch in 1910 with his parents, Thaddé and Mathilde, and in 1911 filed for a homestead directly north of his father's place. He sold out to his brother, Joseph, when the latter arrived from Minnesota shortly afterwards. He worked away from home for a number of years, served in the Army during the First World War, and upon his discharge had taken up barbering as a career. He returned home, however, to attend the funeral of his two brothers and two sisters who had died of the Spanish flu, and remained to take over his father's homestead. He did not give up barbering, however; he practiced his craft - without fee - in the community for many, many years.

In 1922 he married mother (ride Pepin) whom he had met while threshing in the Sandbridge area. She had come from North Dakota as a child, in 1901, when her father moved the family to a homestead. The land barely supported their family of eleven children, no matter how hard they worked.

She moved into the home Dad shared with his parents and the following year Regis was born. The other nine children arrived fairly regularly after that.. Ossie (Oslas), Regina, myself, Lou (Noelia), Yvette, Larry (Hilaire), Adeline, Laure and Aurel, who died in infancy. Fortunately the house was large, there was room not only for Grandma and our growing family, but also for Uncle Théophile and Uncle Odile, both bachelors, when they chose to stay. The teacher boarded there in the early years, and there was often a hired man or a hired girl or just a relative helping out. There were many visitors as well; since the house was located on the main road to Fisher Branch, it was only natural that Grandma's children and grandchildren, who lived all around, should drop in when they passed by.

The depression came early and stayed late in our part of the country, and both parents were kept busy scratching a living from the land. They raised cattle, seeded crops, and grew vegetables, and picked wild fruit, and Dad supplemented the food supply with deer, rabbit and grouse. He did a little trapping as well, and set out poisoned bait long after it was illegal to do so! His love of the hunt almost cost him his life one time - he very foolishly shot at a bear with a .22-calibre rifle and succeeded only in wounding it. The bear charged and he had no choice but to keep shooting. He killed it with the ninth bullet - at very close range! He was also a fine story teller and this particular incident was retold in vivid detail on many a winter's evening.

There was little money for clothing, but fortunately we had a friend in Winnipeg who sent out boxes of used clothing which Mother patched and altered on her treadle sewing machine. She was frugal and made us practice all kinds of economics - after supper we were all herded into the living room, thus saving kerosene for one lamp. She was patient and good natured, but tough. When Regis at the age of four was chased by a bull, she attacked the animal with a pitch fork and the bull got the worst of' the encounter! Less dramatically, she directed the farm operations when Dad went to work in the bush sonic winters, and administered the day to day discipline of her large and boisterous family, reviving only the misdemeanour for Dad to handle. This lie did with the help of a razor strap which was prominently displayed on the kitchen wall. He seldom used it but he looked at it often. The result was the same.

Needless to say there was no sports equipment and no toys, but a little imagination turned broken crockery into fine china, and a smooth piece of wood needed only a painted face to become a doll. The boys made slingshots, and skis, and sleds, and a sheet of heavy cardboard made a first-rate toboggan. We played cards and even when times were extra lean there was always music. Dad played a wonderful violin and as he supplied some of the music for local parties, he often practiced, accompanied by a nephew on the guitar. Regis learned to play both instruments, and Ossie played the guitar and we all sang. We sang, all the time in any case, having picked up Mother's habit of singing while she worked. She had a phenomenal memory and sonic of the songs she sang as a child were, just a few years ago, incorporated in Marcien Ferland's boo, Chansons à répondre du Manitoba.

Dad and Mother had a surprisingly busy social life. They visited a great deal and attended weddings and parties and picnics, they played a lot of cards and in the fall, there was always a series of' apple parties to go to. But when Grandma died in 1944, her passing saw the end of their finest tradition - the annual New Year's celebration. Mother baked for weeks in advance, and Dad brewed his usual batch of moonshine which he coloured with caramelized sugar with much sampling. New Year's Day saw the whole community visiting back and forth, exchanging food and drink, and good wishes and the evening found them at our table, with Grandma at the head, for a supper that took three hours between the first and last sittings. Following the meal the young people gathered in one room to dance, and the older folk in another to sing and drink. To Uncle Bert was entrusted the bottle and shot glass and the grave responsibility of ensuring that everyone remained in high spirits, but no more! Our only regret as children was that we usually fell asleep before the party was over.

Dad inherited the farm from his mother and the old log house was torn down in 1949. Dad and Mother moved to Winnipeg in 1959 and Larry ran the farm for another six or seven years before he sold it. Dad died in July, 1964. At this writing (September 1981) mother is eighty-three years old, in good health and very active.

Regis and Lucy (née Vandersteen), Regina and Bill Riley and Paul and I, live in Winnipeg; Ossie and Mae, Lou and Al Kieser, Yvette and Tom Neill, and Adeline and Ralph McFarlin live in Toronto; Larry and Elsie (née Buckley) are in Birds hill, and Laure and Dick Means make their home in Grand Junction, Colorado. There are thirty-four living children in our families and the bits of history recorded here are intended for their edification - and amusement !