Irene Dutiaume
Age - 73
December 9, 2023
Irene Elizabeth Dutiaume
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Irene Elizabeth Dutiaume (nee Forbes), 73, of Winnipeg, on the 3rd of December 2023 after a lengthy battle with illness with her loving husband by her side.
Irene was born on the 19th August 1950 to Leonard and Margaret Forbes. The middle of three children, she grew up in a happy home. Irene attended Varennes Elementary School and followed on to graduate from Glenlawn High School where she not only made and forged friendships that would last a lifetime but would also meet Richard, who she would later go on to marry.
Irene married Richard Dutiaume on the 21st November 1970 and together they had two children, Todd and Mark. After welcoming Todd in 1973 Irene decided to dedicate her life to being a mother. Irene was fun, caring and was the bedrock of the family. She always knew the right thing to say, never missed a special date, and fully immersed herself in her family's interests. Whether it was supporting her boys in their sporting interests or being a constant in their school and community lives.
The Hockey rink became a central place in the family's life and what started out at the local community centre, soon became provincial, national and eventually international which led to countless adventures and many of her valued memories.
Her annual pilgrimages to the United Kingdom to watch her boys play hockey, which began as a week or two, eventually grew into months. Under the guise of escaping the cold winters, she immersed herself into a Scottish community that embraced her, and even after a long absence, is still asked for on a daily basis.
Betula Lake was a place of refuge and time away from the city for Irene. Spending entire summers there as a child, it became generational as she continued to spend parts of the summers with her family and eventually grandchildren. Precious times that were never taken for granted and always cherished.
Extended family was extremely important to Irene, a fountain of knowledge when it came to remembering important dates, birthdays and anniversaries. But of course, it went much deeper, she craved to know about the lives of her siblings, aunts, uncles, beloved nieces, nephews and wonderful in-laws and took joy in their happiness and successes. The love she gave was returned ten-fold her entire life and in her time of need her family and closest friends did whatever was required and more. Her Sister in law, Arlene was a wonderful health advocate during her period of illness.
In 1994, Irene made the decision that she would return to the full-time workforce. She became an Analyst at Canada Post. It opened a whole new world to her, and not only did she take great pride in her work, she once again built friendships that would stand the test of time.
Irene was blessed with such wonderful friendships. Whether it was lunches with her childhood friends Gail and Sheila, conspiring with Chris, or trying something new and exciting with Sheila Bruce. Irene was always up for an adventure and could always be found sleeping contently in the back seat while Rick and Larry drove the girls to their next destination.
Irene was extremely close with her mother, the two became inseparable later in Margarets life. Her mother's memory never far from mind, Irene spoke about her with great love and admiration until the end of her own life. It gave her great pleasure to have both her mother and mother-in-law Mabel over for dinner. Often both talking about completely different things to each other at the same time over a dinner that she had made for them.
Grandchildren became the central focus in her life beginning in 2008 with the arrival of Olivia, followed by Kian in 2012 and Isla in 2014. Each an example of perfection in her eyes they filled her with a tremendous sense of pride. Quality and quantity were in abundance and every opportunity to spend time was seized. In 2014, Robyn joined the family and completed her heart.
After 53 years of marriage Irene would often 'jokingly' exclaim that had she done it right she would have been free after 25 years. It was a strong partnership and together they navigated building a life; they grew up together, celebrated, weathered tragedy, grew old alongside one another and ultimately lived, without pretence and immensely proud of their roots. In the end, Rick was by her side as she drew her final breath as he always had been.
Irene is survived by her husband Rick, her two loving sons, Todd (Susan) and Mark (Kelly) and her grandchildren Olivia, Kian, Isla and Robyn.
A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, December 13th at 2:00 PM at Green Acres Funeral Home and Cemetery, with reception and a private family interment to follow.Show more
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