MARIE ANGE CYR
Funeral services are to be held for Marie Ange Cyr of Whitehorse who died April 7 at Whitehorse General Hospital after a lengthy illness. She was 85 years old.
Mrs. Cyr was born in Grand Riviere , Gaspé, Quebec in September of 1884. She came to the Yukon in 1918 as a widow with two children, with the intention of joining her stepfather, F.X. Laderoute who lived at Kirkman Creek.
The young woman who spoke French but no English was put ashore with her children at the almost deserted riverboat stopping place and spent the summer there, but in the fall decided to go back to Montreal.
She returned to Whitehorse and tried to purchase her train ticket but no one could understand French. So they called in a passing teamster, Antoine Cyr, who was in the transporting business, to translate.
Antoine and Marie were married five days later, and that fact almost certainly saved her life. If she had taken the boat train that day she would have been on board the S.S. "Princess Sophia" which was wrecked in Lynn Canal, killing over 800 Yukoners.
Mrs. Cyr lived the rest of her life in Whitehorse, raising a large family.
Mr. Cyr died in 1946.
Mrs. Cyr is survived by daughters Mrs. William Taylor (Aline), Mrs. William Kohler (Gloria) and Mrs. Roy Newton (Lil) all of Whitehorse, and sons Wilbrod and Laurent of Whitehorse, Lomer of Terrace, B.C. and Paul of Skagway, Alaska; several grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She leaves brothers and sisters in Quebec and California.
The funeral service will be conducted by Father Monet at Sacred Heart Cathedral with burial to follow in the family plot in the old cemetery in downtown Whitehorse. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, friends donate to the charity of their choice.
The funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
