Claire Raffaele of Sault Ste. Marie and Calgary was peacefully summoned to the realm of the angels that she so greatly admired on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Claire’s legacy of love, compassion, faith, courage, and humour will live on in those who survive her: the love of her life, daughter Brandi, son-in-law, Mike; mother, Lucille, step-children Mara (Dale) and Bob; brother Roland (Carol); sisters Suzanne, Lynne (Russ), and Carol (Chris); nieces and nephews Christopher S. (Natalie), Dustin (Cristina), Adam (Melissa), Lisa, Stacey, Adam (Maryann), Nicole, Melissa (Ray), Michael, Brittany (Jordan) and Christopher J. (Marie-Hélène), as well as Leanne (Leroy), an abundance of great-nieces and nephews, and the innumerable friendships she shared with so many.
Her faith in Jesus was life-long and unwavering. She looked forward to her afterlife, and reuniting with many loved ones waiting for her, including her father Victor (Sibi), step-father, Robert, and grandmother, Lydia.
Born July 17, 1954 in Timmins, Ontario to Victor and Lucille, an unsteady childhood was the catalyst for Claire’s deep maternal feelings for her siblings (and later, for their children), and strong attachments for many of the family members who cared for them. Throughout her life she married three times, incorporating meaningful bonds with new family and friends into her heart, and continuing many of those relationships beyond her marriages.
Love was and forever will be Claire’s superpower and religion. Her heart was her strongest muscle, and she kept it in prime condition. Love was not limited to her family and friends - it was given to children who were crying, people down on their luck (regardless of circumstance), anyone she saw on the news who was suffering, animals who needed love…She gave love courageously and with great depth, and had great compassion for those she felt deserved forgiveness.
Claire was equally well-known for her storytelling and her talent for weaving imagination into reality. Some of her favourite things to do included telling stories and jokes, painting, reading, gardening (comprised mainly of building fairy villages amongst her birdhouse collection), shopping, dressing up her sisters and her daughter (sometimes to their delight, sometimes not so much), binge-watching her favourite TV shows, eating dessert for dinner, and telling inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times. She was very much an introvert, but her greatest joy was time spent with family and friends.
Enormous gratitude goes to Claire’s sister, Lynne, who has been her best friend and main caretaker, waking up and calling Claire, planning their days together. Sure, lots of appointments, but also days where Lynne would remind Claire that it's important on your good days to do what is fun. Whether it was painting, shopping, doing lunch, getting their nails done, or just visiting with her at her apartment. She was and is Lynne’s first thought in the morning and last thought at night. Losing Claire has left a huge void, and the days ahead are so unimaginable that sometimes it’s hard to breathe. In time, this void will be filled with memories, but she will always be missed and we wish we had had more time.
Tremendous and heartfelt thanks also go to the exceptional Dr. Febbraro and so many of the nurses who took care of her at the Cancer Clinic of Sault Area Hospital, and to Dr. Gray, and Dr. Yi, along with the nurses who provided such a peaceful and compassionate environment leading up to, and during her transition from this life to the next.
Claire’s dying wishes were to get her 20 or 30-year-old body back while in Heaven, to be able to eat whatever she wanted, and for the world and each of us in it to become a little kinder, and make the world a little better. Her family asks you to consider this in lieu of flowers. While Claire loved them, she would have preferred to inspire unexpected, unsolicited acts of kindness in her name.
Arrangements entrusted to Northwood Funeral Home Cremation and Reception Centre (942 Great Northern Rd, 705-945-7758). www.northwoodfuneral.com