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ROUSSEAU, Rene (Ray)

1931 - 2016


It is with great sadness to announce the passing of Rene (Ray) Rousseau, on May 4th, at Chilliwack General Hospital. Rene was husband to Ona (McCutcheon), predeceased in 2012,

and beloved father of Rick, Randy, Roxanne, Rhonda and Dana. Rene was born in Edmonton in 1931 and moved to New Westminster when he was a young boy. He loved the YMCA and it is here that he developed his love of sports. Rene attended UBC where he got is BA in Education. He began his teaching career in Ocean Falls, Nanaimo and then settled in Chilliwack where he taught boys P.E. at CSSS in the early 1960's - 1970's. He was responsible for creating the football team at CSSS and was very enthusiastic at coaching. Rene's many hobbies included oil painting, ballroom dancing instruction, theatre, camping & fishing, golf and later on, skiing and hang gliding. He also loved classical music. He transferred to AD Rundle in the late 1960's where he taught Grade 8-10 Math & English. During this time he began to build houses on a part-time basis. Eventually he saw the pportunity to go into construction full-time and retired from teaching. His children (especially his 3 sons) were deployed to help him. He retired from building in 1982 and with his wife Ona moved to Reno, Nevada for 9 years. Rene returned to the Fraser Valley to reside in Abbotsford with Ona and his beloved dog, Barney, and later Joey. At this time he took up racing and was proud of his many medals he won in his class division. He was a big achiever and was always trying to improve his times. Rene spent the last 4 years of his life at the Cascade Lodge in Chilliwack. The family extends heartfelt gratitude to the staff for providing excellent care of Rene. His grandchildren, Sheena, Bonnie, Robert and Christopher will miss his fun loving, playful and creative ways of interacting with them. We will all miss his quirky sense of humor and way of doing things. Our memory of him will remain in our hearts forever. A Celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 14th at the Royal Cafe in Chilliwack at 1:00 pm. Friends and acquaintances are welcomed to come share memories of Rene, who was a "one of a kind guy" who liked to handle challenges his "Ray Way". In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to the Altzheimer's Society.



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