Prince George, B.C. – “The family wants this to be a Celebration of Life service as opposed to a funeral.  I suppose a funeral focuses more on the loss and the grief of losing someone and it is completely normal that we get teary and choked up. However smiles and laughter are also completely normal and in fact that’s what she would have wanted.”

The words of Cal Malena, lead pastor and personal friend, to the volunteers and Rotarians, logging truck drivers and other forestry workers, social services friends, small business people, MLA Shirley Bond and former MLA Pat Bell, Councilors Hall, Frizzell, Stolz and Koehler from City Council, Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom and all of the others who gathered at First Baptist Church on Saturday for the memorial service for MaryAnne Arcand.

Reverend Malena noted that MaryAnne was a woman of Christian faith.  “She led worship with her beloved guitar at times and she also wanted this memorial service to be honoring to the God that she loved and served and to Jesus who was her savior and her lord.”

MaryAnne’s sister Patricia (pictured left) delivered the eulogy, stating “the large number of people here simply confirms what I already knew, that MaryAnne, with her larger than life personality, her infectious and hearty laugh, touched many lives and had a significant effect on numerous facets of the community.   My older sister MaryAnne asked me to say some words on her behalf today.  Well, actually, that’s not true.  She told me to give a “kick-ass” eulogy on her behalf!” (As the crowd chuckled sister Patricia gave a quick glance over her shoulder at the smiling pastor). “Be loud and proud, she said.  I was told, “and don’t make it sappy.”  “She told me she had lived a great life and was moving on to new adventures up in heaven.  She told me she wanted cheers, not tears, and laughter, not sniffles.  I remember telling her that would be hard for me and you know what she said?  She told me, stop complaining and just get it done.  “I am the one with cancer”, she said, “all you have to do is give a speech.”

“That was my sister, folks.  Someone who never took no for an answer and someone who could not be described with just one word.”  Patricia had asked people who knew her sister to describe her in one word.  Those descriptions include servant, caring, especially for the well-being of others.  “MaryAnne cared about others in her work with the BC Forest Safety Council.  My sister worked tirelessly, both in Prince George and in Victoria, to champion the rights of loggers and logging truck drivers.  It wasn’t long ago that workers put their lives at risk to earn a living in the bush.  In 2005, the year she joined the Forest Safety Council, 43 workers had died in BC forests.  By 2009, the number was down to four and in 2011, that number was where it should be, zero.”  That comment was met with a resounding round of applause.  “My sister did this because she cared for the people working in the industry, and she cared about their families.”

MaryAnne was also described as musical for the joy she got from singing and playing her 12-string guitar.  Modest, when giving credit to others for work she had done herself; influence, using her God-given talents to influence the world around her and make the world a better place; warrior; determined, which earned her the nickname “The Bulldozer” for refusing to quit or take no for an answer.  “But she didn’t bulldoze people.  She simply wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept going until she got the “yes” that put her one step closer to the results that she wanted.”  Funny:  “Maryanne loved to laugh, to make others smile. Leader.”

“Courageous.  Cancer sucks.  Even though MaryAnne lost her short battle with cancer, she was able to inspire others with the courage she showed during her illness.  A friend shared that MaryAnne’s laughter, smile, behavior and outrageous courage during her final days touched many, in countless ways.  She would not allow those who visited to dwell on her illness but rather focus on the fun and wild times that they had shared together.  Another person wrote to tell me that even though MaryAnne knew her time was short, she joked with her. “I was more taken aback by her condition than your sister was”, she stated.  “That speaks volumes about the kind of woman that MaryAnne was.”

“Communicator.  MaryAnne never met a microphone that she didn’t love.  She was able to speak to a crowd of any size and took every opportunity to influence the decision-makers in the room to make her community a better place.  When I travelled to Europe last summer I was amazed by her ability to talk in so many different languages: English, Dutch, German, French.  But I am told that the language that she knew the best was the language of the truckers.”  (which brought more laughter).  “She loved the truckers, and they loved her in return.”

Family was another word used to describe MaryAnne Arcand for the importance her husband George and children and grandchildren held in her life.  And, as she prepared to close, Patricia said a friend had provided one word that best described MaryAnne.  “One tiny, fragile, insignificant collection of letters describing a lifetime of greatness and influence.  That one word is extraordinary, because we are all ordinary people but there are some among us who go out of their way to help others when they may be too proud to ask for help, when they may not want help, and when they may not even know they need help yet.”   “Extraordinary people make an ordinary day better for the people around them.  A smile, a hug and a warm greeting.  These are the people you can count on, no matter what is going on in your life, or in theirs.  They put others before themselves.   They will be by your side through all your troubles, without invitation and without expectation.  Just a quiet courage and support.  I hope that at the end of my life people will struggle to find one word that describes the impact that I had on their lives, and I’m hoping that that word will be a positive one.”

Dr. Mike Dennis from the Downtown Rotary Club said it was his privilege to visit MaryAnne as her illness progressed.  “I just wanted to emphasize to you how inspirational she was and how brave she was.  She never ever complained or said oh woe is me.  She always was positive about things and was more interested in how things were going rather than how her situation wasn’t ideal.”  He noted how MaryAnne kept the older Rotarians in line.

MaryAnne’s oldest son, Harald, (above right) made reference to the many letters and cards of condolence which the family has received, especially one from the Prince George Brain Injury Group which spoke of MaryAnne sitting around the campfire playing her guitar and singing songs with those assembled.

Harald added some descriptive words about his mother to his aunt’s list.   Words like giving, loving, encouraging, understanding, a listener, patient, strong, tough and fearless.  "You have worked with her, heard her talk about how unsafe is unacceptable, served on committees, heard her on the radio, seen her on the bush roads or travelling down the mill road to talk about turnaround times and safety.  She was your Rotary President, your champion for safety, concerned about the environment and how we should pollute a little less.  MaryAnne was getting tress planted and just plain out there trying to make a difference.”

“If you were lucky you got to sit around a campfire and hear her playing her guitar and singing until her voice gave out.  While we were growing up mom was involved with many different youth groups, with the church and recently with RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).  When she played her guitar her face lit up like nothing other.  There was always just a big energy around her.  Mom had this effect on everybody.  They just wanted to be with her and share the joy of her life.”

There were others as well who  spoke in tribute to MaryAnne Arcand, but they all had the same common themes:  She was unstoppable, undeterred, not shy about giving advice, generous in the giving of herself to and for others, dedicated to making the world a better place, committed to God, and an amazing, bright light.

Extraordinary.