Edouard “Ed” Lavallée was born at Reed Lake, Manitoba, Wednesday, March 17, 1926. Ed married Helen Highway on July 31, 1945 and they lived in Pine Bluff, Manitoba for the first 10 years of their marriage. They moved to The Pas, Manitoba due to the flooding in the Pine Bluff area and to enrol their older children in school. There is evidence that people settled in Pine Bluff as early as 1874. Life in Pine Bluff was hard nonetheless the close-knit Métis community was productive and self-sufficient. The local economy consisted of hunting, trapping, fishing and farming. The community established a school, church, a fur trading post, and stores. The families of Pine Bluff were strongly entrenched in the community but unfortunately the development of the dam at Grand Rapids forced the relocation of the residents, of which most moved to The Pas. After moving the family to The Pas, Ed found employment working on the Distance Early Warning Line (DEW Line), Water Resources, and often as a guide for American hunters. The family spent the summers at Kelsey Lake fishing camp where Ed commercial fished for a number of years. He began working for the Town of The Pas in 1957 where he continued for about 12 years and then began to work at Keewatin Community College in 1969 from where he retired in 1991. KCC presented him with the prestigious Order of the Hook when he retired. His strong work ethic was passed onto his children. Ed had many interests especially baseball, he had the opportunity to coach little league baseball for many years, for which he was honoured by the Kinsmen Club who named a baseball diamond named after him. He also received a letter of commendation from the Montreal Expos for his volunteerism and dedication to the sport. He was an avid fisherman, he was the only one who caught the biggest one and had the hardest fight to reel it in. He loved hockey and was often at the arena watching his sons, grandsons and then great-grandson play. During his time in the hospital he kept track of the number of points his great-grandson got in this past season. Over the years he continued to spring trap to supplement his income but also because he loved it. He liked to boast about how many muskrats he could skin in an hour. He often talked about the eight hours it took to walk to Pine Bluff to trap for muskrats on the week-ends during spring trapping season. In the ensuing years he wore out many pairs of piss rubbers walking the roads in and around The Pas, he was a familiar sight to everyone. People often phoned if they had not seen him for a period of time. Ed and Helen lost their first daughter Florence in infancy in 1947 due to illness and daughter Annette in 2002. It is hard for us to imagine them as a young couple and to understand the pain that they went through to lose their first daughter and then lose another one many years later. Ed slowed down in the past two years and after a fall at home in January 2014, he fractured a hip and after undergoing surgery and medical tests, it was discovered that he had chronic lymphatic leukemia. He remained in hospital until his passing on Friday, May 16, 2014 with his family at his side. Ed was 88 years old. Ed is survived by his children, Sonny Lavallée (Orra), Louise Dewar, Jackie Lavallée (Clément Bédard), Delbert Lavallée, Lionel Lavallée; grandchildren, Noelle Dorion (Ron), JR Lavallée, Curtis Lavallée (Leslie), Marcel Dewar (Crystal), Réal Dewar (Shawna), Jade Dewar (Kimberley), Laurice LaVallée (Denis), Danielle Bédard (Michael), Joël Bédard, Lori Cook, Albert Cook, Felicia Cook (Randy), Skye Lynn Lavallée; great-grandchildren, Chloe, Avery, Joee, Zander, Gabriel, Sean, Josh, Matthew, Kaelin, Madison, Joel, Nicole, Leah, Connor, Quinn, Natalie, Denny, Melanie, Dionne, Ruby, Randall, Reiley, Raenaeia, Jason, Christyano and great-great-daughter, Daenerys. Sister, Claire Mickelson; brother, Gabriel (Mary Louise); brother Ovide; sister Marie-Ange Tetarenko (George); sister-in-law Lucy Lavallée. Ed was predeceased by wife Helen, nee Highway; father, Alexandre Lavallée; mother Florence Lavallée, née Stove; brothers Joseph, Raymond, Lloyd, John, Gilbert and sister Loris. Daughters, Florence Yvonne Thérèse and Annette Alma; grandson, Sonny Joseph Lavallée; great-granddaughter Jessica Taylor Dorion; great-grandson Jeremy Constant; son-in-law Keith Dewar, brother-in-law Ole Mickelson, sister-in-law Josephine Lavallée, sister-in-law Ida Lavallée. Prayers and visitation was held Wednesday, May 21, 2014, 7:00 pm, at the Chapel of Hemauer Funeral Home, The Pas, Manitoba. Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday, May 22, 2014, 11:00 am at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, The Pas, Manitoba with Rev. Jack Herklotz presiding. Music ministry was provided by Rochelle Rydberg. Memories of the heart were shared by Laurice Lavallée and Danielle Bédard. Scripture readings were proclaimed by Marie-Ange Tetarenko. In keeping with Edouard’s wishes, cremation has take place and interment will follow at a later date. Active pallbearers were Marcel Dewar, Réal Dewar, JR Lavallée, Jade Dewar, Curtis Lavallée, Joël Bédard. Honorary pallbearers were Ovide Lavallée, George Cook, Gilbert Munroe. If friends so desire, donations to The Pas Friendship Centre, Box 2638, The Pas, Manitoba, R9A 1K7, would be appreciated by Edouard’s family.