Mary "Pearl" Margaret (Riopelle) Vrebosch

Mary Margaret “Pearl” Vrebosch passed away peacefully in her 97th year on Saturday, July 11, 2020, at Eastholme Nursing Home (Powassan, Ontario).

Pearl was born in Mattawa, Ontario, on February 20, 1924 to proud parents Sam and Josephine Riopelle (Colbourne).  Survived by her only living sibling, Myrtle Urquhart and pre-deceased by Frieda Adams, June Thorne, Delia Leduc, Charlie Riopelle and Eddie Riopelle.

Pearl, like many young women of the era took on various jobs, but the ones she spoke of the most were hers at the Mr. Christie cookie factory in Toronto and at Minogue Diamond Drilling in North Bay.  Pearl would eventually retire to care for her eldest grandchild. “Grandma” would host dinners of meatloaf at her home, sew jumpers and aprons and always have a Werther’s, Jos Louis or a stick of Juicy Fruit. Grandma and Grandpa were happiest when surrounded by their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Pearl loved playing bingo, darts and bowling. She was also a super fan of Blue Jays baseball. She was a long-time member of the Royal Canadian Legion Br 445, Club 665 and the North Bay Golden Age Club.  Her favourite pastime, however, was going out dancing to her favourite musician, her son Bill.

Pearl was always a popular and pleasant woman to be around. Her sparking personality and ready laugh will be missed by all who knew her. As nurses and attendants at Eastholme have said, “She always had a way to make you feel good about yourself”.

Pearl was predeceased by her husband of 68 years, Adrien “Babe” Vrebosch.  Babe and Pearl built a strong and loving family together in North Bay.

Pearl leaves behind her son, Bill (Gisele) Vrebosch, and daughter Maureen Marchildon. She is pre-deceased by her son Brian Vrebosch. Her grandchildren, Tracy (Mark) Barill, Lori Vrebosch, Lisa (Kirk) Vrebosch-Dougherty, Louise Vrebosch, Billy Vrebosch (Erin Thatcher) and Tanya Vrebosch (Dan Nogueira).  She is going to be missed by 13 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren, all of whom are taking this time to share in the gratitude we all feel for having had such a loving and vibrant grandmother.

Our family would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the staff of Eastholme, particularly those of 2 South who cared for Pearl, especially in these recent, unique circumstances. A private celebration of life will take place at a later date. In the interim, donations to Low Income People Involvement (LIPI), her favourite local charitable organization, can be made in Pearl’s honour.