In Loving Memory of

Joan Lebeuf

(Maiden: Felsing)
of Edmonton
Feb 19, 1932 - Dec 20, 2021

Livestream for the Prayer Service on Monday, January 3, 2022 at 5:00pm Copy & Paste - https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1640770445800916

Livestream for the Funeral Mass on Tuesday January 4, 2021 at 11:00am Copy & Paste - https://vimeo.com/661652690/c784c5a3f7



Joan Lebeuf (Felsing) was born February 19, 1932 in Peace River, the second of four girls. Her parents were Walter Felsing and Eileen Felsing (McGuinness), settlers who homesteaded at Judah in the 1920s. Joan first attended Ena School, walking the 2-mile trek there and back with her older sister Eileen every day. They both went to St. Augustine Mission with another sister, Roberta, for a year, and then, for three years, Joan and Eileen stayed in a granary converted to a small house while they attended high school in Peace River. Joan graduated with honours in 1950 and was class valedictorian. She then went off to Edmonton to take a one-year teaching degree at the UofA.

Joan met her future husband, Clovis (Joe) Lebeuf, in the choir at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Peace River during high school. They were engaged while she was in university and, after graduating, she taught in Manning for the '51-'52 school year. Joan and Joe were married on September 27, 1952 and had six children between 1953 and 1967: Colette, John, Greg, Roger, Leah, and Stephen.

For the first 13 years of her married life, Joan and Joe and the children led a nomadic life around the Peace Country as they followed Joe's career with Northern Alberta Railway, with the result that every time Joan heard someone say the word "move", she would cringe and sigh! They finally arrived in Wanham in 1965, purchased the Marshall Wells Hardware in 1966, and settled there for a full 28 years.

Apart from her family, Joan had two other deep passions -- her faith and her music. She felt both intensely all her life, and wholeheartedly embraced the renewal of the Catholic Church in the '70s. Musically, she played piano from childhood, joined every choir she could, became Choir Director in Wanham and Ephphatha, learned the guitar at 50, and sang harmony with gusto. She also loved to personalize the lyrics of songs for family and friends on special occasions.

When they sold the hardware store and retired in 1992, Joan and Joe took on ministry work in the northern community of Cadotte Lake with the idea of retiring to Central Alberta afterwards and travelling the world. Sadly, Joe passed away in 1994, but Joan completed the ministry, briefly moved to Warburg, and then decided to downsize completely and take up a spiritual and minimalist life at Ephphatha where she lived for 10 years. During this period, she made many pilgrimages to Holy places around the world: Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Medjugorge, Guadeloupe, Fatima, and Montreal.

Joan moved to Calgary to live with her daughter, Leah, in 2005. She loved her sisters and both sides of her extended family and appreciated spending more time with all of them. She also enjoyed sharing adventures with her grandchildren in Campbell River and Edmonton. Joan's final move (sigh) was to St. Andrews in 2009, where she relished the community spirit, the proximity of the church, and being able to live even closer to her sisters, especially Pat who provided never-ending support and friendship.

Joan loved colour, quirky trinkets, and had a keen sense of fashion. She had class, dignity, determination, genuineness, a deep compassion for others, and was an exceptional listener. She was known for her wit, sharp repartee, and her word play, and tried to make us laugh as often as she could. Even with dementia, she never lost those attributes.

We will miss her terribly, and will cherish her legacy and memory forever.