Anise "Doris" Marie Blaquiere-Derzaph

Anise "Doris" Blaquiere-Derzaph of Redcliff, beloved wife of the late Edward Blaquiere and the late Adam Derzaph, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023 at the age of 96, with her daughter, June, by her side.

Doris was born on June 20, 1927 in St. Paul, Kent County, N.B. She was the ninth child of Bibienne (Cormier) Belliveau and Henri Belliveau. Doris leaves to mourn her passing: daughter June (Bill Matuska), daughter-in-law Bev Blaquiere, daughter Elizabeth(Betty)Jones (Trevor), stepson Edwin Derzaph (Lorna), stepdaughter Sharon Black, grandchildren: Kirk Blaquiere(Dione), Shane Blaquiere, Ronaye Beck (Jason) and Karlee Everist (Bryce), step- grandchildren Tammy Bachler (Byron Fedosa), Michelle Haggart, Tracey (deKleine), Brad Derzaph and Donnie Perini. Doris cherished her many great grandchildren, step great grandchildren and nieces & nephews, too numerous to mention. Doris is also survived by her sister Minnie Surrette of Ambersburg, ON and brother Al Belliveau of Greenwood, NS.

Doris was predeceased by her husband, Edward Blaquiere (May 10, 1993), step grandson Bruce Perini (Nov 26, 2010), husband Adam Derzaph (Feb 8, 2015) and son Edgar (Ed) Blaquiere (Sept 24, 2020).

The following information for the most part was dictated by Doris in 2017:

Doris was the ninth of 13 children and grew up on her family farm in New Brunswick, about 45km northwest of Moncton. She moved away from home at the age of 16 to work in Moncton, first as a housemaid and then at the Marvin Biscuit Factory. In 1945, while working at the
factory, she received word that her sister, Lorette, was in need of a servant girl in Minto as she was expecting her 4th child. While working at Marvin's, she made a down payment of $2.00 for a coat with her first pay cheque - a blue gabardine! She had it paid by the time she was needed in Minto.

While working as a servant girl for her sister, Doris got a job working as a waitress for a fellow by the name of Edward (Eddie) Blaquiere, who had a taxi stand and small restaurant . He had actually dated her sister Rita, but that had not worked out for them. Very soon after starting at the restaurant, Eddie and Doris started dating. They were engaged in December 1945 and married on January 8, 1946 in Minto. In June of 1946, they headed to Boston for their honeymoon where she wore her first bathing suit and got her first sunburn. She never wore a bathing suit after that!

On June 28, 1948, Doris delivered her first child, June Theresa, but not before casting her first vote just after her 21st birthday. On November 16, 1951, she delivered her second child, Edgar Joseph and on January 11, 1953, she had her second daughter, Betty (Elizabeth) Mary.

In August 1956, the family moved to Toronto via train with very little of their belongings. They lived at the home of her cousin Clairanda, who rented rooms in her large boarding house. Eddie worked for a trucking company but it was not long-before they realized they were not going to be able to make a life there, so with the encouragement of their friends, Jerry & Irene Gaudet, they continued their train trip to Redcliff in August 1957. Upon arrival to this small prairie town, they wondered if they had again made the wrong move. She was so homesick and Eddie kept promising that once they were financially stable, they would return to New Brunswick. The family returned several times over the next few years on vacation via car but continued to make Redcliff their home. Doris was a stay at home mom until 1961 when she took a job at the hospital in housekeeping and stayed there until 1981 when she retired as Assistant to the Administrator of Housekeeping, Pat Melidones.

Doris and Eddie continued their trips to New Brunswick via car until Eddie's health failed. They flew to New Brunswick in 1992 with their children and one grandchild (Karlee) when her mother, Bibienne, turned 100. This was a memorable occasion. Several hundred attended the celebration.

They lived in several homes in Redcliff. They never purchased because Eddie was still planning to move them back to New Brunswick but by this time, the children were all grown and getting married and she didn't want to leave them. They finally purchased a home on 2nd street in Redcliff however Eddie was in poor health and didn't like the idea of her having to do all the work around home so they decided to sell and moved into an apartment on the same street. Turned our they hated the apartment so they decided in May of 1983 to purchase again and moved to 118 - 1st Street, S.E. where she continue to live until the time of her passing. Doris loved her home and wanted to live there as long as she was able. This wish of hers would not have been made possible without the help and generosity of her incredible neighbours over the years.

Doris was a woman of strong faith and was an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church where she belonged to the CWL and Church Choir for 22 years until the church closed in 2001. Doris was a member of the Roving Choir, which was a combination of choir members from St. Mary's Catholic, St. Ambrose Anglican and Gordon Memorial United Church, all of Redcliff. In addition to being an active member of the Catholic Church, Doris spent a great amount of her time in retirement volunteering at Central Park Lodge (Riverview Care Centre) for many years. She was known as the ice cream lady and also portered residents so they could join in on the activities.

In the summer of 2008, she began a relationship with a friend she met while volunteering, Adam Derzaph. Adam unfortunately lost his wife Ann in 2004. Doris and Adam had a lot in common and spent time together volunteering, going out for dinners, listening to music and chatting over the phone. Adam tried to teach her to dance as she always had an ear for music but was never able to pass the feeling on to her feet. Doris and Adam

married on July 26, 2010 and spent 5 wonderful years together until his passing on February 8, 2015.

Doris' family was fortunate to celebrate her 96th birthday on June 20th this year at her home in Redcliff. It was a wonderful, joyous occasion that brought happy tears to Memere's eyes (as she was affectionately known by many) while everyone sang "Happy Birthday". Unfortunately soon after this, her health began to fail. She spent the last few days of her life at St. Joe's for respite care and passed away peacefully at the Medicine Hat Hospital on September 3, 2023. A heartfelt thank you to all those who looked after Doris during her last days with us and to those who provided home care as her health declined.

The funeral service will be held in the PATTISON FUNERAL HOME & CELEBRATION OF LIFE CENTRE on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. with Life Celebrant, David Townsend officiating.   If you are unable to attend in person you can participate via livestream - please visit pattisonfuneralhome.com and select live streaming, then select the youtube (arrow).  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either of the CWL in Medicine Hat, Heart and  Stroke Foundation, Cancer Society or the charity of your choice.   To watch the live stream service, please see below.

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