COUTURIER, Lauraine Marie

December 29, 1935 — May 25, 2025

There are women who live quietly, tucked into corners of the world like pressed flowers. And then there was Lauraine. She exited this life, peacefully in her sleep, with no pain and no suffering, on May 25, 2025. Outgoing, vibrant, and a true social butterfly, Lauraine was never just a guest at life’s party. She was the one who started the music, lit the garden, and reminded you that no matter where you are, or what time it is, there’s always room to dance.

Lauraine moved 86 times in her life, which is not a misprint. Most people move a dozen times if they’re adventurous; Lauraine did it nearly seven dozen times (she was just crazy enough to do it, if only to keep things interesting). From Saskatchewan to Alberta and BC, from city to bush camp, she left behind laughter & stories, a collection of good china & glassware, and perfectly aligned clocks. Yes, she had a clock collection, Lauraine had a fondness for them. She never trusted a room unless it told her what time it was. From her earliest days, she believed firmly that one should know exactly when to leave a party, a marriage, or a department store. Speaking of which, if there were a sport called power shopping, Lauraine would’ve been an Olympian. At one point, with her brisk stride, she could clear a mall wing in less time than it took a cashier to ask, “Debit or credit?”

She was a camp cook in the oil fields, gone for weeks at a time, feeding fleets of hungry rig workers with wit and meals that have since passed into legend. And, at the Alaska Café/Dew Drop Inn, three generations of Couturiers worked side by side, keeping coffee hot and stories flowing.

Music ran through her life like a strong current. Her rock music was played as often as country was, and her experience of it included a KISS concert for her 79th birthday and a trip to see Mötley Crüe in Las Vegas the very next year for her 80th (both gifted to her by her son Jimmy-Dean). “The louder, the better,” she always said, usually from behind the wheel of her car, stereo system cranked high enough to register on seismographs. Dancing? Of course she did. She danced like someone who knew the value of each song (and like someone who wasn’t entirely convinced the band would come back for an encore). While out with her best friend Annie and other friends at a cabaret, or in the kitchen, Lauraine twirled, swayed, and clapped. She was great at it. She even played the accordion! Yup, she would perform at weddings and parties with her then-husband, Arthur (who played guitar) and later their son Felix joined the band (playing the drums). Lauraine had music in her bones.

But, it was in her garden where the myth of Lauraine truly bloomed. In Dawson Creek, she cultivated not just flowers (850 varieties, no less), but also a symphony of light. Each evening, 386 tiny bulbs glowed just so, not one of them an inch out of place. The whole neighbourhood may have needed sunglasses, but her garden won awards, and her pride lit up more than the yard. She lit up our lives, we are going to miss her.

Lauraine is survived by her daughter Kathleen and son Jimmy-Dean. She is also survived by her five granddaughters: Martina Couturier, Jeannette Couturier, Madelene Couturier, and Jeannine Couturier, (children of Kathleen) Jessica Walker (child of Felix). Lauraine also had ten great-grandchildren: Jordan, Jayne, BreeAnna, Renee (children of Jeannette), Kane (son of Madelene), Lahndon, Sheimys, Alex, and Phelisha (2 sons and 2 daughters of Jeannine), Morgan (daughter of Jessica). Lauraine was also a great-great-grandmother of three: Leonidas (son of Jayne), Atlas (son of Jordan), David (son of Lahndon).

Lauraine was predeceased by her eldest son Felix and her son Terry. She outlived Arthur Joseph Couturier, the father of her children; as well as her parents, Henry Guillet and Jeanne Marie Flavie Joubert, and six of her siblings, whom she undoubtedly has now gathered into the after-life kitchen, where the coffee is hot and the clocks are precisely synchronized.

A Funeral Service will be held to honour Lauraine on SATURDAY, June 7, 2025, at 4:00 PM (PDT), at SPRINGFIELD FUNERAL HOME, 2020 Springfield Road, Kelowna, BC. A reception will be held following the service at The Springfield Funeral Home Family Centre. If you wish to attend, please Click Here to RSVP.

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