In Memory of Éloïse De Pelteau

[JoanP]

In Loving Memory

 

Éloïse De Pelteau

 Discussion Leader, Hôtesse Extraordinaire et chère, chère Amie

 
 

[JoanP]

"Je me souviens"...Montreal's official motto.  Can we ever hear that again without thinking of  Éloïse?  A member of our Books and Lit family for such a long time!   Whenever a French book was to be discussed, Éloïse was right there with us.  I was looking in our Archives this morning and saw her leading a discussion of Madame Bovary -  in 2003 - all in French!  And you'd be surprised at the number our participants who followed right along with her.  

Outside of the book discussions,  she rarely missed a social gathering, smiling, laughing and listening.  A real friend.  Who will forget that huge "bash" in Montreal - which she planned and hosted herself with such apparent ease!  
There are some people that come into our lives  we will never forget.  Madame De Pelteau is one of those special people.  Please use this space to share your memories of this very special lady.  

[ginny]

And yet again we've lost another bright light here on SeniorLearn. It's with great sadness that I heard of  Eloise's passing.  It hasn't even been a year since we saw her in NYC!

Eloise, always elegant, beautiful, a master chef as we found out at Books at the Beach at The Isle of Palms, and whose great love was her children and family.  You couldn't have a conversation with Eloise and not hear about them all, how proud she was of them.

In NYC however, Eloise shone. Ride the train from Canada to NYC? Not a problem. Dragging heavy suitcases? Get from Penn  Station to our hotel? Not a problem! She was amazing!

Everyone was enchanted by her spirit and good will.  We took a boat ride around NYC. The wind was howling, it was cold, threatening rain, drizzling,  alternating with blistering sun, everybody  ran for the stairs to get  out from  the burning sun/ wind/ possible rain. Yours truly and some other less hardy  souls sat below all the action but Eloise, not content with blowing away topside, came below and went right out on the rail,  wanting to savor it all.

She was an indefatigable good sport, and appreciated and enjoyed everything to the fullest. Her glass was 7/8ths full no matter what.  She brought my 4 year old grandson some books in French  to NYC, and he was thrilled to be able to hear and see Cars in another language.  She led our book discussion of Les Peregrines IN French and I don't think any of us will ever forget her positive kind approach to our awful French, it was wonderful. We were still talking/ laughing  about it in NYC.

And now Eloise and her bright spirit have left us, but she's left behind a wonderful example to anybody of what aging ought to be  like, and memories of wonderful friendship.  We will never forget her. I hope if other people have more photos of Eloise they will bring them here, too.

[ANNIE]

Bon voyage, my friend, Eloise.  You brought so much love to all of us, in our discussions here on SL and earlier on SN.  I will always carry a picture of you and your wonderful smile in my heart.  I will always remember your joining us in Charleston (with you and Anna gracefully manning the kitchen).  I remember your trip on the train to join us in NYC just one year ago today.  Mary(my sister)and I spent a lovely day with you shopping on 5th Ave and visiting "The Plaza" hotel where another Eloise lived in days passed.  
Thank you for sharing your love of life and family with all of us.  We will be keeping that family in our kind thoughts and prayers especially this week.
Bon voyage, my friend.  

[Radioman]

I had the pleasure of meeting Eloise at the end of July.  A week prior to my visit we chatted on the telephone for about half an hour, a vibrant and lively conversation; a week later when we met she had lost the power of speech, but not the power to sing.  At supper that evening as I sat across from Eloise and her daughter Isablelle,  her daughter asked if she would like to sing a song called Le Fiacre a song they had shared from childhood. Eloise nodded her head and her face lit up with the most radiant smile you could ever imagine and the two of them sang together in such a way that I was in tears just watching and listening.  And in that moment I knew I had captured the essence of a most vibrant lady who had lived her life to the fullest.

Here is a photo of Eloise and her daughter which I took at a bistro where we stopped for lunch on the way home from the hospital.




How i regret that I never met her sooner

[kiwilady]

Dear Eloise, I miss exchanging views in healthy living and the other health forum we both posted in on the S&F site. You were always gracious and kind. I can't believe you are gone.

Rest in Peace dear friend.

Carolyn. (kiwilady Auckland New Zealand)

[MaryPage]

I  met Eloise at the SeniorNet Bash in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in October of 2001.  She was beautiful, full of high spirits, lots of fun and very intelligent.  A real lady, she was lovely in every possible way.

[ginny]

Don, what a wonderful memory for you to cherish, hearing Eloise and Isabelle sing La Fiacre! I did not know the song and I found this enchanting presentation of it, now I can't get the tune out of my head.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0AIIxmofbw

What a wonderful thing to  leave  in our memories of  Eloise, thank you so much!

[Persian]

I recall Eloise's mgnificent spirit throughout the years as we read her excellent comments about health and enjoying life in all phases, her humor and joy at sharing family experiences in her posts for all to enjoy, and her marvelous sense of reaching out in friendship to all.  During the past two years as my husband was in the USA on a leave of absence from his home university in Egypt and in the process of applying for American citizenship, Eloise invited us to come to visit her in Montreal.  And she mentioned that if we really wanted to see a beautiful City at its best, be sure to come during the Winter Christmas Holidays, when the City-wide decorations would be outstanding.

Unfortunately, we did not take that opportunity to visit.  Yesterday, when I spoke with Mohamed (who returned to Egypt in mid-June) and mentioned Eloise's recent passing, he caught his breath and I could hear him praying very softly.  He finally said (almost to himself) "Ah, our Lord must  need a very special Angel."

And I also recall the genuine feelings Eloise expressed to me when my son deployed as an Army Chaplain - twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.  He is safely home now in the USA, but Eloise's earlier words have always remained in my mind:  "Do not fear.  Your son travels surrounded by prayers from many."

For those friends who actually met and interacted with Eloise and her marvelously joyful and elegant fun-loving personality, I surely envy you that pleasure.  Although she is not with us physically , I am confident that she is with us in our Hearts.

Thanks also to DON for sharing his memories of his recent trip to visit Eloise and her daughter, Isabelle.  And most especially for that lovely picture!

Mahlia

[ANNIE]

And thank you, Ginny, for leaving a link to that song that Isabelle and Eloise sang. Its just charming.  Now its in my memory for the week.

[pedln]

Eloise surely will be missed, such a delightful person.  I remember her at the beach house in South Carolina.  She would go out there and walk on the beach every day, braving those cold January winds without a care in the world.  And then would come inside, and join Anna in cooking up delicious food for the rest of us.   So caring, so giving.
 
It's hard to believe that it was just a year ago that we were all together in New York, and Eloise wanted to see and do everything -- and she did.

[ANNIE]

Since we are celebrating Eloise's life, I want to add some stories here that made me laugh and admire her chutzpah.

After her children were grown,  Eloise wanted to go to Europe(maybe France?) but she couldn't drum up the money.  Then she saw that a church that she  knew about was looking for volunteers to help in the office overseas.  She was there for several months and pretty much got to see everything she had dreamed of.  Her pay was room and board provided by the church.

And a little story of of our NYC trip, when Eloise went to breakfast with my sister and me.  She only ordered coffee and pastry as she had already eaten.  When our breakfast arrived, she seemed puzzled. We had ordered quite a bit of food which we were sharing.  Finally Eloise looked at us and said, " You two are so skinny I can't believe you can eat so much food!  "

After we left the restaurant for the subway, we all pulled out our metro cards to slide them through at the gate.
Eloise's failed to let her through, so she just went with another lady through the handicap gate. Laughing merrily, she practically skipped over to the train and climbed on while  Mary and I looked at each other, askance!  85 yrs old and still havin' a good time!  That was our Eloise!

[JoanK]

I never met Eloise in person, but I always remember her in the discussions. When I would go into a new discussion, and see her name, I would always smile --"Ahhhh, here's Eloise", and look forward to reading what she would say.

Our dear friend Anna Alexander preceded Eloise by a few months on this new journey. But I know if she were here now, she would be telling you, as she told me so many times, of how much she enjoyed her trip to Montreal to stay with Eloise -- the places they went, the foods they ate, the talks, ahh yes the talks. I'm sure those two bright spirits are up there somewhere together talking (and talking and  -----)

[Emily]

I remember Eloise from the Story of Civilization discussion. She was a part of that discussion from the beginning and for a few years afterward. Her insights are surely missed.

Her story (in another discussion) of growing up during the hard times of the depression was both poignant and moving. The part about her mother's piano and love of music, surely made a lasting impression on her. She wrote with a love of family that shone through the hard times.

An impressive lady.

Emily (Fifi)   

[Bow_Belle]

I met Eloise last September  in NYC. I was so impressed that she had travelled all the way by train from Montreal. As she was not in my Latin class I knew very little about her but I have been reading all your tributes and that lovely saucy French song that I listened to brought a tear to my eye.

She certainly like the French had Joie de vivre! and was so chic and  tres elegant!

I am truly sorry to hear of her death

Gabrielle Hector

[ANNIE]

When we were in NYC last September, Eloise told me that when Anna came up to Montreal for the bash, Eloise urged her to try one more time for workable hearing aids since the technology changes frequently and so Anna did!  And they worked!  She was delighted and Eloise was so glad that her good friend could now hear.  Sweet story from a sweet lady!

[Radioman]

I advised Isabelle of the many tributes that had been paid to Eloise and Isabelle has responded in S & F
http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=2300.30;topicseen#top

[IsabelleDee]

Hello dearest friends from Senior Learn,

I just learned as I read through your wonderful memories of our mom that Anna has passed. If anyone knows her family, please extend our deepest condolences.

I am touched as I am certain my family will be when I send them your kind words by the stories and love you have from your friendship with our mother. She was all that you described her to be...all the way until the end. Never complained, only smiled. It is a great loss to us, but indeed, I am certain that she is happy to be dancing with her husband again, laughing as they swirl from cloud to cloud. We were blessed to have such a great mom and dad. Many thanks to you all.

Isabelle

[Zulema]

It's hard to believe it's been that long, Isabelle.  I always remember your mother with great affection and so does my daughter Nina who joined us in Montreal and Quebec.  I don't come here very often so I thought I would take this opportunity to reach out to you again.  Wishing all the best to you and your family.