Yvette Marie Cecile Pinel

Yvette was born on December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe), 1946 in Mission, B.C.

She started grade 1 at Cedar Valley School in B.C. The family moved to Moose Jaw, SK in 1954. Yvette continued her education in Moose Jaw at St. Michael’s School and Sion Academy. She later trained as a Library Technician, graduating in 1974, and started her career in Wilkie.

She moved to Saskatoon in 1978 to work for the Catholic School Board, in the Library as a Senior Certificate Library Technician, and she retired from Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools in 2017, having worked there for 39 years.

Saskatoon became Yvette’s community, and she became a member of St. Paul’s Parish. After she completed the Lay Formation Program in1998, she began to serve as Sacristan for the 8:00 am Mass; every 8:00 am Mass because that’s pretty early for most folks! She also committed time to Faith activities/groups: Marian Cenacle, Charismatic Prayer Group, Eucharistic Adoration, and more.

Whenever possible, she went to daily Mass. She was sometimes teased about it, but that never stopped her – the Eucharist was central to her life.

She enjoyed photography and did some coin collecting.

All of her working life, she spent every long-weekend with Mom. At first, she would go to visit and cook some meals for her. As Mom grew older, Yvette did house cleaning for her and did her shopping, taking on more and more as time went on. In the summer she did the spring cleaning and helped with the garden. Between Emile’s family and Yvette, Mom was able to stay many years in her well-cared for home.

When Mom passed away, Yvette remained the glue that kept our family together, encouraging us to keep in touch with each other, remembering birthdays, and sharing family news when we lost touch.

She loved the little ones. She cherished her nieces and nephews. It wasn’t unusual for a crying or fussy baby to become calm in her arms.

She lived a quiet life; she didn’t draw attention to herself, and so very, very often she went unnoticed. However, she spoke the truth when she thought it needed to be spoken, leading sometimes to heated discussions. There was no guile in her, which didn’t make her popular. She simply lived without hidden motive. And quietly touched lives around her. Her sense of humour was subtle (sometimes with a hint of mischief) and her smile would warm your heart.

Yvette was predeceased by her father and mother, Pierre and Emilia Pinel; her sisters, Florence LaRose, Lucille Pinel, and Claire Hosler; and her brother Roger Pinel.

Left to treasure her memory are her sisters, Denise Cameron and Helen Watson; her brothers, Leo Pinel (Beryl), Louis Pinel (Carol) and Emile Pinel (Dale); and her beloved nieces and nephews: Cheryl, Diana, Lisa and James; Christopher and Dominic; Pierre-Louis, Patrick and Anne-Marie; Jesse and Shane; Eliah and Isaac; Amanda and Jason; Ashley, Hailey, Joel and Jasmine; Nick and Ben. And all their children for whom she deeply cared.

She wanted to thank the pallbearers, with a very special thanks to Doug Kinzel, who helped her throughout her illness, getting her to medical appointments and helping whenever he was needed.

Thank you to others who have helped with her funeral, including the Readers and Altar Servers.

Thank you to all who visited her in palliative care, especially to those who prayed with her at that time and all the others who prayed for her.

Thank you to the music ministry and to the whole parish where she made her home.

Thank you, Fr. Penna and Saskatoon Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers a donation may be made by etransfer to campaignlifesk@gmail.com or a donation may be made on site to St. Paul's Co-Cathedral repair and renovation fund. 

To share memories and condolences, please visit www.saskatoonfuneralhome.com. Arrangements entrusted to Saskatoon Funeral Home, 306-244-5577.