Clowater family
Our deepest condolences to the Clowater family.
CLOWATER (NÉE LAROSE), Marilynne Angel
1940 - 2023
A Mass will be held for Marilynne on July 2 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Name Parish followed by a burial for both Marilynne and Chesty at the Kirkland Lake Cemetery. After the burial, there will be a luncheon held at Holy Name Parish for Mariylnne's Celebration of Life . All are welcome.
We find ourselves at Christmastime again - 8 years almost to the day - sharing our profound grief with friends and family as our mother, nana, sister, aunt and friend, Marilynne Clowater, has left us to join her love. We imagine that the hallways of heaven are ringing with Chesty’s happy shouts of “Hun!” - bringing a rueful chuckle to our lips and twinkle to our eyes even as we grapple with the final act of our own long goodbye.
From the initial diagnosis of a mild cognitive impairment through the unfaltering progression of dementia, we’ve had the past decade to prepare ourselves for the gradual loss of the Marilynne we knew and to get to know the Marilynne she became. Through it all, glimmers of her core personality always shone through - the energetic ‘doer’ - a whirlwind who had managed to hold together thriving professional and personal lives, and who never met a basket of laundry (even in long-term care) that she didn’t want to fold!; the nurturer whose home was always open to everyone (and random kids always showed up at the breakfast table and in family photos!) transferred her attention to her fellow residents; and, the social butterfly who loved to laugh, sing and dance gradually became the quiet strength of a hand held while humming and swaying along to her favourite oldies on the radio.
The Marilynne we knew was kickass, always taking care of business and - more importantly to her - those she loved. Born in 1940 to Arthur and Jessie Larose in Farmborough QC (the seventh of 10 kids), she grew up on their farm where she developed both the emotional and the physical strength that marked her character. Even at a young age, she assumed the role of caregiver, leaving school early to hold down the fort for her siblings - Monnie (O’Reilly), Shirley (Natola), Arthur, Valerie (Barrett), Darlene (York), Donnie, Laurette (Frost), Louise (Roberts), and Paul - while her parents worked. By 16, she had moved to Rouyn-Noranda, working as a hair dresser. Her entrepreneurial spirit was awakened and she opened Chez Marilynne’s Hair Salon at age 18 (a business that followed her throughout her life journey until her retirement in 2010). She met and married Chesty a year later in 1959 and started their 56 year odyssey together. (56 years!) The eldest 3 of their brood were born in Rouyn-Noranda while the younger 3 came along during their time in Mattagami. The family eventually settled in Kirkland Lake in 1976 as the owners of the Esquire Cigar Store.
Marilynne and Chesty built a rich life together focused on family and community. Active in their children’s lives, their home had doors open to all. More than the epic parties the kids threw when Marilynne and Chesty were away, their friends all knew that they were always welcome just to hang or when they needed a listening ear or help, not to mention fixing hair emergencies! While winters were spent in arenas with their hockey family, summer holidays were spent as regulars camping at the Knights of Columbus Nettie Lake Camp and - in later years - at their Sesekinika cottage. Puttering in her garden, first mate in Chesty’s fishing boat, or genius in the kitchen, Marilynne was always in motion doing things she loved. She was handy, industrious, and oh so capable. And, while we’re all familiar with the Wok With Chesty hockey fundraiser, we all know that the quiet force behind the scenes was Marilynne. Active in her church, Holy Name of Jesus Parrish, and the Catholic Women’s League, Marilynne was a reliable pair of helping hands whenever there was a need. Above all, Marilynne adored children, most particularly her grandkids - cuddling the babes, romping with the littles, chillin’ with the older ones - her time was a gift, and a full house was her heaven.
Blessed with a large, boisterous, and fun-loving family, Marilynne will be celebrated but also deeply missed by her children: Blaine (Kirkland Lake), Dale (St. Catharines), Tracy (St. Catharines), Shelley (Sarnia), Kurt (Peterborough), and Kent (North Bay); the in-laws: Lynda Doxsee, Steve Tamas, Mike Dell, Patti Mullins, and Lissa Clowater; and, her pride and joy, her 9 grandchildren: Jordan Clowater of Olds AB; Alec (Alex) Tamas and Chloe Tamas of St. Catharines; Adam Dell of Guelph and Emalee (Owen) Dell of Sarnia; Cormac and Finn Clowater of Peterborough; and, Dylan and Nathan Clowater of North Bay. Her selfless giving, keenly remembered by her surviving siblings - Laurette, Louise, and Paul, the extended Clowater clan, and a plethora of nieces and nephews, particularly Robin Whelan Desjardins, who was a constant loving and comforting presence.
Words cannot express our profound gratitude for the care, compassion, and dignity with which Marilynne was lavished in her home of the past six years at Teck Pioneer Residence. The kindness, enthusiasm, and engaged positivity of the staff is a both a blessing for the people living there and a relief for their families. Donations to Teck Pioneer Residence in Marilynne’s memory will be gratefully acknowledged. A celebration of her life - sure to include the singing, dancing, and gathering of friends that she loved - will be held in the Spring.
Write your sympathies or tribute
51 messages received
The Clowater Family and Friends
Thinking of you all at this very sad and difficult time. Marilynne will be certainly missed by all who knew and loved her, she was one SPECIAL lady. In the last few months I have seen her lots at TPR and watched her slip, it was time, she was ready, she had had enough. Watch out Chesty, here she comes...RIP
Clowater Family and Friends of Marilynne
So very sorry to hear of Marilynne's passing. She was quite the lady!! My sincere condolences to all who loved her.
The Clowater Family
Our deepest sympathy for the loss of such a special person. The love and respect of so many is a testament to the kind of woman Marilynne was. May all the special memories you have give you some peace..and a few chuckles in the days ahead.
Ray & Sue Perrier
The Clowater families
A wonderful tribute!
Deepest condolences to all the Clowy’s and their families.
Rest easy knowing she’ll be at Chesty’s side watching over you all.
Marilynne’s family
My heart goes out to you. Marilynne was a lovely person throughout her journey in the life. I’m sorry for your loss.
Blaine
So sorry for your loss
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowaters
I am so saddened to hear the passing of your dear mother. Thinking of all of you at this time. RIP Marilynne.
May my support
warm your heart
Tracy and family
So so sorry for your loss. We all send our deepest condolences to you all.
Xoxoxo
May my support
warm your heart
Clowater family
What a beautiful tribute! I'm so sorry for your loss. I extend my deepest condolences to you all.
Clowater Families
Our deepest condolences to all her loved ones. It was a pleasure knowing your mother at Teck Pioneer Residence. She was always so cheerful and full of life. May your fond memories and the love you share sustain you through this difficult time. RIP Marilynne.
Blaine & the Clowater family
Our deepest sympathy to all of you at this very sad & difficult time.
I have so many fond memories of both Marylin & Chesty when we all lived in Noranda & continued our visits for years after.
Clowater kids and families
Our deepest sympathy to all of you.. Your Mom was a fantastic woman and gave to everyone.. What a great tribute to her. I know she will be missed by all and Chesty will be so happy to have the love of his life back in his arms. RIP Aunt Marilynnne.
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowater Family
My deepest sympathies on the loss of your mom. She was such a wonderful lady! My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Blaine and family
So sorry to hear of your Mom's passing....she was a great hairdresser and a neighbor as well...hold on to the memories... take care ..
Blaine & Family
What a beautiful tribute your Mom, she must have been a special lady!
Our thought's and prayers are with you. May she R I P.
Lynda, Blaine and family
Marc and I are so very sorry to hear of the passing of your Mum. She was truly a wonderful woman who always put her family first. Please accept our sincere and most heartfelt condolences. May you great memories of her carry you through this very difficult time.
May my support
warm your heart
Blaine Clowater
Marilynne will be missed but never forgotten .She was the kindest most giving person I knew growing up. Say hi to Grandma for me Marilynne. Love from Iris O'Reilly
May my support
warm your heart
Family
Our deepest condolences on the loss if your Mother.
Entire Family
Aww I am so sorry for your loss of a wonderful lady. She was such a great mom to you all, and so proud of your accomplishments. She was always smiling and always willing to help. She might have been small but I never saw anyone as strong as she was. Had many great times with her at the church. I am sure when she arrived at heavens gates that Chesty was waiting for her. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. RIP my friend until we meet again xx
The Clowater Children
I was so sorry to hear of Marilyn's passing. My sincere condolences to her family. My memories of her and her friendship from our Matagami days will stay with me forever. She really was an angel and one who I was privileged to have as a friend. Her door was always open and we'd sit and have coffee and chat in her home on rue des Trembles and my daughter, Lee Ann, and Tracy and Shelley would play together. RIP my friend, till we meet again.
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowater family
Our deepest sympathy
The Family
So sorry for your loss. She was an amazing woman, she will be very missed. Hugs and love to everyone ️
The Entire Clowater Family
What an incredible tribute to an extraordinary woman. Sending our deepest condolences.
Shelley, Mike and Family
May your happy memories give you peace and comfort during this challenging time. Our deepest condolences. So sorry for your loss ️
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowater Family
We were so sorry to hear of Marilynne's passing. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to all her family and friends.
Blaine and all family
My deepest condolences to you and your family! So sorry for your loss!
The Clowater Family
Our deepest sympathies to you all. There will be lots of joy in heaven with her arrival but she will be missed here on earth. Big hugs to you all.
May my support
warm your heart
Clowater and Larose families
Deepest condolences to the entire family, so sorry for your loss.
Clowater Family
Blaine, Dale, Tracy, Shelly, Kurt and Kent, my heartfelt condolences goes out to all of you at this time. So, so sorry for your loss. Much love and strength to all of you during this difficult time.
…Claude from Pickering
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowater family.
Our hearts are with you at this sad time.Your Mom was a beautiful fun lady.Sending love and Big hugs to all the family .
The Clowys 8-8621
So..... in your lifetime.... If you are lucky....someone leaves such a positive influence on you, that you undoubtedly take notice. And on behalf of ALL us kids who passed through The Clowy house, I found our remarks are so similar as we describe her presence in our lives.
So when we youngsters, around grade nine, some of the Clowys showed up on the scene in KL from Noranda via Mattagami...Dale and Blaine were first, accompanied by Chesty. There were some fun and games for a yr or so....then came the rest of them, led by Marilyn. And as they all entered town, they all went in the first round to groups of friends that valued the kind of people they were. Robust, fun people with big hearts.
Now its safe to say Chestys job was to rule the roost and let us young haywires know, that there were indeed rules, especially when there had 6 kids of their own and with at least 4 close friends each, the numbers multiplied quick!
Enter Marilyn....here was a rather tiny woman, beautiful on the inside as much as the outside...with a hall of fame smile, and the source of those big Clowy hearts.
If you ever wondered what kind of person you should mold yourself into, Marilyn was a perfect role model and very accessible for studying, since she was flying by your nose every few minutes, falling over everyone....and by that i mean helping others, making dinners, cleaning the house, mothering her brood, running a super successful salon and making all us newcomers feel like we have been in the family since its inception. Also, it was hard not to stare at her...beautiful and powerful ...so many admirable characteristics
In the first years, we were too busy being little delinquents, like youngsters can be, dipping bread in her fresh sauce on the stove, sneaking Dales stereo past her, piece by piece...and never letting on we were indeed ON the radar. Or leaving a mountain of empty beer bottles behind the back room, thinking we were getting away with it.... inviting ourselves for sleepovers along with droves of others.
She was tolerable but would indeed have good advice for us, but wasnt going to upset the apple cart...besides Chesty was patrolling the wings constantly and it only took a wee glance from his ominous presence to stop us in our tracks...
So the yrs pile up and the front door keeps flapping as groups upon groups of friends would descend onto The Clowy House as if to expect, perhaps a loaf of bread and a pot on the stove, that each of us could raid while no others were around.
Ya! Well THAT wasnt going to happen....there were so many of us we would literally pile up at the front door. Thats how I met everyones friends...right at the front door.
My brother Kelly was pals with Blaine, My sister Erin inseparable with Tracey, and Dale and I and our circle of friends were thick as thieves ourselves....and Shelley with my wife Karri...and Kurt and Kent did the same. Friends' upon friends hung out at The Clowy House
So to imagine how this all doesnt upset a family...just look at Marilyn.
Marilyn was eternally smiling, with a tender heart for us all to lean on when we had our own pressures. She worked her butt off all while being the kindest person ever...
While Dale was styling his afro and ironing his jeans before we went out, Marilyn was there...lending her incredible disposition in any way she could.
Do you want a bite? she would say... always caring about us all...
And so on and on and on different scenarios would appear and Mrs Clowy, as we would affectionately call her... be the stalwart love monkey to us all .
Givng us what she had, if it be her last slice of bread, or a smile that would would fill the cracks of any wounded soul. Did i mention she had 6 kids of her own?
So I know I didnt thank her enough...or show her appreciation...or repay her for all her generosity...the way I should have, or she deserved...
So to my brothers and sisters from another mother...your Mom..at the 8-8621...Mrs Clowy....was a Hall of Famer...First Ballot...they hustled her right in....cause no matter who is measuring this persons life...the story was unanimous...
Marilyn was an Saint!
You will be missed and loved forever xo
Hugs and love to you all ....and Thank You Mrs Clowy XO
Clowater Family
My condolences on your mother's passing but just know that she's happy now with her husband. Just know your mom is at peace.
Blaine and Dale et al
What a wonderful tribute to your mom She gave me my first perm! My sincere condolences …she was a very special person
Tracy & Steve, Blaine & Lynda, Dale, Shelley & Mike, Kurt & Patti, Kent & Lissa and Families.
My heart goes out to all and I must say, that is the most beautifully written obituary I have ever read. It brought back a floodgate of memories of growing up in Kirkland Lake as a teenager with all the Clowaters. It describes exactly how it went down at 57 Kirkland St. It was a home away from home and the more I think of it, I can't imagine how they put up with us coming in and out 24/7. Marilynne never stopped and was either cooking, cleaning, watching Kurt and Kent play hockey, calming Chesty down, running the salon, cutting or perming our hair afterhours or sewing a dress for Tracy at the last minute before a dance.( Eh Trace!) She was strong and beautiful and never seemed to age. A devoted wife, mother, daughter.....Saint. Thank you for making my teen years so memorable Marilynne and please give Chesty a hug for me.
Blaine&Lynda
My deepest sympathies to you Blaine, I didn't know your mom but just by reading the beautiful tribute in the Obituaries gave me a clear vision of the wonderful person she was. You need to hold your head high as you where always there for her even during the Covid-19 pandemic, nothing would stop you from visiting your mom. She must of been so proud of you. RIP sweet Angel.
Marilynne Clowater
Our hearts are saddened for the loss of such a special and generous
person.
Sending our heartfelt condolences to Marilynne’s family and friends.
Heaven unquestionably gained quite the “Angel” when she left us.
Rest in Peace my dear “Godchild”
Clowater Family
Sending our deepest sympathy to the Clowater family.
Our hearts are saddened in the loss of a very generous and loving person.
Heaven unquestionably gained quite the “Angel” when she left us.
Rest in Peace my dear “Godchild”.
The Clowater family
The world would be a better place with more Marilynnes. Keep her memories locked in your hearts.
In our thoughts,
Vivi & Don
Blaine and Lynda and Clowater family
We were saddened to hear of your loss and truly understand there are really no words that can ever change how that loss feels. You are all in our hearts and thoughts as you navigate this new era. God Bless Marilynne.
May my support
warm your heart
Blaine and Lynda and Clowater family
We were saddened to hear of your loss and truly understand there are really no words that can ever change how that loss feels. You are all in our hearts and thoughts as you navigate this new era. God Bless Marilynne.
May my support
warm your heart
The Clowater Family
We were very sorry to receive the news of Marilynne’s passing. She was a kind , energetic and special person who made everyone who knew her feel better .
She will be missed by so many.
Our sincerest condolences to her wonderful family and many friends-Brian and Gale Hamilton
The complete Clowater Family
I wish to extend my deepest condolences for Marilynn’s departure. Your description of her
Life and activities was spot on.
Both she and Chesty were exceptional people, The Sampson family will miss her as well. We had many good times and laughs with them.
Clowater family
What a beautiful tribute to your amazing mom, she was one of a kind. My deepest sympathies to all of you.
May my support
warm your heart
Blaine & Lynda & the Clowater family
What a beautiful story of your mom. Over the years, Marilynne was a good neighbour to my babcia and dad on Kirkland Street. She helped immensely when we were cleaning up the house on 55 Kirkland and getting it ready for sale.
The Clowater Families
I can’t remember when I didn’t know Mrs, Clowater. She was always so kind to my mother and I. Marilynne was always so kind, interested, and interesting .
Even though it has been years, we will miss her quick witt and compassion.
Sincerely,
Laities Bassett and the (late) Dorothy Bassett
The Clowater Family
I was so sorry to hear about the passing of your mom. She truly was an amazing lady. Sending you lots of love and prayers.
Tracy Tamas and Family
It sounds like your mom was remarkable! Reading the obituary makes me wish I had known her.
I pray for you and your entire family, and hope that the special memories that you shared will bring you some comfort during this difficult time.
Sending love,
Cheryl Conn-Costantini
The Clowater Family
So sorry to hear of Marilynne's passing My sincere condolences to the entire family and the many who loved her . RIP Marilynne.
Ines Robazza
Clowater family
I’m very sad to hear this news. I sat with Marilynne for meals at tech pioneer when I was there. She was a beautiful lady.
My deepest condolences to her family.
Lena Wilberforce
And family.
May my support
warm your heart
Blaine and family
My sincere condolences.....it is never easy to lose a loved one particularly at Christmas. Cherish the memories....
May my support
warm your heart
