Jeannine A. Girouard

Jeannine Antoinette (n é e DeBellefeuille) Girouard. Also known as Memere, Mimi, May-may, Mom, Ma-mere, and Frenchie. Born June 19, 1929 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and died August 3, 2019 in Livonia, Michigan.

Born at the start of the Depression in Montreal as one of 11 kids, she took nothing for granted and appreciated the simple pleasures—a burger and Coke, having her hair ‘set,’ a new outfit from JCPenny’s, and a game of cards. A feminist in her own right, she taught her three daughters, five granddaughters, and great-granddaughter never to take any crap. And, she even stuck around to meet “the boy,” as she affectionately called her great-grandson.

She got up at 5 am to work in a hospital cafeteria until she was 80, and on her limited income she would somehow make sure each granddaughter had a new school wardrobe every fall, matching pajamas at Christmas, hand-me-down cars to drive, and monthly ‘tokens’ in the mail during college.

She taught her girls to love each other fiercely – ugly parts and all. For those lucky enough to be in her inner circle, her generosity poured over you so thick, even when it meant less for her.

So many moments that make a life. Her girls will forever remember:

• A childhood peppered with French melodies and folk songs
• Sleepovers eating potato chips and watching Golden Girls late into the night
• Dancing to Glenn Miller in the kitchen while she cooked one of her grand meals, maybe with a sip of rum and coke or Baileys
• Watching her watch Ruby play for hours on end, the two of them coloring side by side or looking out together on the porch swing
• Conversations about life as a kid in Montreal, her days as a working mom, and, of course, Dancing with the Stars

She will always be the center of her family’s universe, and she always made it clear that her girls (and the boy) were the center of hers.

She is survived by daughters Denise Kruz, Lise Sampson (John Sampson), and Linda Lazarz (Michael Lazarz) and granddaughters Melanie Sampson (John Benetti), Natalie Sampson (Michael Gagacki), Lindsay Gluf-Magar (Jonah Magar), Marley Gluf (Max Kurek), and Kasey Lazarz. She is also survived by great-grandchildren Ruby and Zeke Gagacki. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Lucien, and son-in-law, Tim Kruz, as well as all of her many siblings and numerous other loved ones, including her beloved best friend, her sister Lucille.

She loved secretly feeding all of the family pets table scrap s, or sometimes whole burgers; donations can be made in her honor to the Huron Valley Humane Society.