OCTOBER 7, 1957 – AUGUST 15, 2022
Dianne Gravel passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at Freeport Hospital after a brief, but courageous, battle with cancer. She is predeceased by her parents, Aline (nee Labine) and Hector Gravel, and her brother, Douglas Gravel. She is survived by her children, Jeremy (Mikeala) Mills, Benjamin (Julia) Mills, Todd (Rachel) Antoine, and Kimberly (Craig) Eastabrook (nee Antoine), as well as her siblings, Ned (Ute) Gravel, Shonne Gravel, and her sister in-law Beate Gravel (nee Goetz). She leaves behind ten grandchildren who will deeply miss their Nana: Sophie, Lillian, Grayson, Noah, Emma, Isaac, Jacob, Adaline, Isabelle, and Chloe.
Dianne Gravel was born in Burks Falls, Ontario and grew up in North Bay. Dianne was the youngest of nine children, born from two marriages. Life in North Bay was not easy for her and her siblings as they grew up with a single mother, in a tar paper shack, and had to walk to school uphill, both ways.
Dianne married at a young age and moved to Cambridge. Using her quick wit, she was able to convince her high school that the college would allow her to attend as a mature student and she convinced the college that the high school deemed this early admission appropriate. Her first marriage gave her two children. In her second marriage, she had hoped for one more child, but instead was given twins. Her children grew exponentially, which scared her enough to stop having children.
Education, and the endless possibilities that came with it, was one of Dianne's greatest passions. She pursued her accounting designation as a single mother while her children completed their homework at the same table she studied at. She graduated from the Certified General Accountants program and received her designation as a CGA after many years of hard work and was proud to do this with her children by her side.
Dianne excelled in her 25-year career as a CGA at Hillson & Co. LLP, which would later become Embree & Co. LLP and then Caissa LLP. She worked tirelessly during many tax seasons, spending hours with clients and staff, perfecting her passion for numbers and never missing an opportunity to teach the next generation her skills.
Dianne had a gift for teaching. She loved sharing the fundamentals of accounting with the student staff at work. And she brought that passion for teaching to the Sunday School children at church and to her own children and grandchildren when sharing her expertise at making preserves. It bears mentioning that her Nana Jam and Nana Pickles are world famous (at least, to her world).
Her smile was big, her stories were grand, and her door was always open. Her love for others made her home a place of comfort for many people and her table was often surrounded by smiling faces.
Her words of wisdom were given freely and often repeated as follows: "Remember who you are, remember where you came from. Don't make a mess and anything you do; I will find out about it. If you are going to bring something home, make sure it can go on the mantle."
Thank you, Mom. We will remember.
Visitation will take place at Coutts Funeral Home, 96 St. Andrews Street, Cambridge on Friday, August 19th from 2-4 and again from 7-9 p.m. A private family funeral will take place after.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Freeport Hospital hospice ward.
Arrangements entrusted to Coutts Funeral Home & Cremation Centre
