My parents met during the second world war, in 1943. In southern Italy. In the city of Avellino, near Naples, nestled in a valley and surrounded by the Partenio and Picentini Mountains. He, a sargeant in the Canadian army. She, the daughter of a well-known philanthropic anti-fascist doctor. They met, they courted, and they married in 1946. My mom chose to return with my dad to Canada, to the small northern New Brunswick town of Bathurst, as a so-called "war bride". From that marriage came the six of us, of which I am the youngest (and an accident, I am pretty sure).
They lived a long and successful life, definitely not always smoothly, but ultimately with fulfillment. My dad passed away peacefully in 2013, at the age of 92, and my mom in 2020, again peacefully, at the age of 96. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we were unable to travel to New Brunswick in 2020, and so we agreed as a family to defer her service until we could easily gather. In addition to my mother's funeral service, we also decided to hold a joint remembrance service for both of my parents at their final resting place: the South Bathurst cemetery in the town of Bathurst, New Brunswick.
This short web page captures those days in early July of 2022, when we travelled back to our home town and celebrated our parents: Anna Clotilde Perugini and Joseph Aurele Lavigne. Immediately below is a 45 minute video of the church ceremony, the cemetery service, some relevant scenes from around their hometown, and a few scenes of the family while visiting.
Anna and Aurele - A Remembrance Video
And below, a few images taken alongside the video recordings, of the proceedings and of our family spending some time together on this bittersweet occasion.
To finish off, below are a list of related presentations and videos related to my parents, or to Bathurst, or both. Note that this is not an exhaustive list, and you can find more on my website at
alavigne.net:
