"Ole" Olive Lucille Perreault

Olive Lucille was born on May 22, 1925, in Winnipeg MB, the youngest daughter of Mary Helen Verlin and Charles Raymond Collinson. At the age of four, which was right at the beginning of the Great Depression, her parents relocated to The Pas so her father could secure a job with the Hudson Bay Company. At a time when jobs were difficult to find, the HBC offered opportunities in Canada’s north. This move would make a lasting impression on Ole and she made many dear friends there who she kept in contact with until her final years. Ole received her education in Convents in The Pas, Sifton and Cranberry Portage. Because of the popularity of the name Olive, there were several other Olive’s in her class so one of the nun’s gave her the nickname Ole which she retained for life. Ole was only 10 when her father unfortunately passed away. One of Ole’s earliest jobs was working for the Streamer family, who owned several businesses including a Hardware store in Cranberry Portage. She went on to work at the Royal Bank in Flin Flon, an excellent opportunity for a woman at the time. As a valuable Royal Bank employee, Ole was offered a transfer to either Winnipeg or Binscarth. As I remember the story, mum went for an interview at the Portage and Main branch in Winnipeg, but the city proved to be a bit too big for the small town girl so she accepted the position in Binscarth. As fate would have it, Binscarth was where Ole would meet her future husband, Vernon Russell Falloon. Ole was a Teller at the branch but when Vernon came to the bank, he would always deal directly with the Bank Manager, not a Teller’ so Ole was surprised when Dad asked her out on a date. Ole and Vernon were married on November 11, 1948 and they lived on the Falloon family farm for 11 year until the passing of Vernon in 1966. During their marriage, they were blessed with six children: Russell (Jo-Anne), Carol, Karen, Lyle, Glynis (Ian), and Vernon (Cheryl). Ole was a proud Grandma to 12 grandkids and Great Grandma to 15 great grandkids. In 1977, Ole remarried a local farmer, Edmond Perreault and they were married for 39 years before Ed’s passing. Ole was also predeceased by her mother, her sons Lyle and Russell, and her sister Lillian.

Ole had many lifelong interests. She was an avid gardener and had an absolute love of travel. She had many stories and pictures from her extensive travels which she beautifully compiled into “Creative Memories” photo albums. Ole had a very creative side which she expressed through such things as knitting, quilting and crafts. She was always game to try new creative projects or learn something new, so in her retirement years, Ole participated in French and Spanish language lessons, paper tole and even hand dyeing silk scarves in her 90’s. She had several lifelong pastimes: dancing and taking pictures. She could always be counted on to attend local community dances and she joined several square dancing and round dancing clubs with Ed. She was also never without her camera and was always asking her family to “pose so she could take a picture”.

When it was time to move from her home in Russel into a Senior Living facility, Ole chose to move to Kelowna BC. Although she loved the beauty of Kelowna and enjoyed the lake views, she found the pandemic to be quite challenging. Being a highly social person, she deeply missed being able to visit friends and family in person. Ole had several health conditions that she was battling but her health significantly declined in her final few years. However, she was always up for a laugh and a joke and will always be remembered for her beautiful smile.