Celebrating the life of Denise Landriault

It is with the heaviest hearts that we have to tell everyone, that on the early morning of Thursday, May 2nd, ours beautiful mother Denise passed away. She drifted into another realm, peacefully in her sleep at home with our Dad by her side. Two days before her passing, we celebrated her 69th Birthday, where her and my Dad renewed their vows. It was a beautiful day that our family will cherish forever. For anyone who had the privilege of meeting our mom, you know she was a kind, sweet hearted, generous soul who did nothing but contribute to filling this absurd life with everything beautiful. She was a master of her craft as a mixed media artist, painter, craftsman, cook, gardener, and curator of her living spaces. We will also continue to share her incredibly diverse array of artwork, and we ask you to do the same. Her career, spanning over 45 years, deserves real attention, as a dedicated Canadian Artist with a unique and distinctive voice. We will miss her forever.

There will be a service that will take place at the Beechwood Cemetery on Saturday, May 11th at 1:00pm, the day before Mothers Day. Anyone who would like to pay their respects is welcome to attend this short ceremony. My mother was adamant that her service would not be a dark, depressing affair, therefore we respectfully ask you not to wear black clothing, if you have the option to wear otherwise. Due to an earlier Mother’s Day walk held at the cemetery, we advise you to arrive early in case of limited parking. If you don’t mind walking a little, please leave the immediate cemetery parking for our family and relatives.

As per his wishes, we ask that you please don’t send flowers to my Dad, Rocky. If you would like to help and pay your respects in another way, you can donate to the Sarcoma Cancer Foundation of Canada, or the GoFundMe, which is now aimed at helping pay for the funeral service and ensure a smooth transition for my Dad in this next chapter of his life.

Thank you all for your kind messages and understanding as we may not be able to respond in a timely matter.

Thank you so so so much for support over the past year, and the continued support. This is the hardest thing we've ever had to go through as a family and your donations have helped immensely during this time. We are BEYOND grateful for you all, and so was my mother.

With the most love, thank you.

*NEW UPDATE - APRIL 2024*

Hello everyone, I'm hoping that some of you are still able to read these updates. There has been a pretty sudden change in prognosis for my mom's Cancer. After beginning the second treatment in early April, her doctors have realized that my mom is too weak and the Cancer is too aggressive at this point to continue chemo treatment. She is now on Palliative care at home, where she wants to be, for the remainder of her life, however long that may be. It is uncertain the amount of time, but for the time being, she is comfortable at home surrounded by friends and all the family she can handle, not to mention a couple of dogs. Palliative care is not fully covered by OHIP, but most is thankfully, so we as a family are still asking for donations to help my parents with this extremely difficult time, as we prepare for more difficult conversations. Please share with your community, and if you're a fellow artist, please spread the word about her artwork, and share her artwork with your community. Painting is what she misses doing most.

Thank you once again, from the bottom of our hearts.

Denise

Dom

Marie-Anne

Phil

Rocky

*Previous Update - Late 2023*

Hello everyone!

We as a family wanted to provide an update on Denise's condition and also send out a heart felt thank you for those who donated to this fundraiser or supported by other means. You all really showed my mom and family how much they are cared for, and we absolutely don't take any of it for granted! So thank you!!! It is beyond appreciated.

As of early December, Denise has finished her first round of chemotherapy and received positive CT scan results. This first round of chemo was very intensive and was incredibly hard on my Mom physically and mentally, as well as my Dad, who's been caring for her on a daily basis since this all began. Although the scan results were positive in terms of the chemo decreasing the spread of the Cancer, Denise is by no means out of the woods yet.

She is travelling to Toronto for an appointment about possible experimental treatment which could be promising in prolonging her life, but we don't know much about that yet. Beyond that, Denise will be starting her second round of Chemo in early February, and we are hoping for the best to come from this second round and for her to start her road to recovery.

Denise would like to thank you all again for your generosity and support through this hard time. She would also like to thank her medical team who have been treating her so incredibly well throughout all her treatments and appointments.

We as a family are hoping that if you have already donated you could still continue to share this fundraiser! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Hi, my name is Dominic, I am starting this campaign on behalf of my mother, Denise Landriault, who has recently been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, a Uterine Leimyosarcoma which has unfortunately metastasized to her lungs. As of now, there is no cure but there are hopes of stalling or decreasing the growth with aggressive treatment.

For those of you who know Denise, you know that she is a devoted and talented mixed media artist and craftsman, who has been creating and exhibiting her work all over Canada for over 40 years. She is a kind, generous and loving lady who loves to laugh, paint, bake and walk through her garden every chance she gets.

She has initially slipped through the cracks of the struggling health care system, but thankfully was admitted urgently to receive a full hysterectomy surgery, which ended with the completely unexpected cancer diagnosis. She has a long and very tough road ahead, with her first chemotherapy treatment beginning in August, and this campaign is just one way we as a family are hoping to receive some outside support.

My mom is not alone at home thankfully, my extremely supportive Dad, Rocky, is and will be by her side throughout this whole process, as will myself, and my siblings, Marie-Anne and Phil, and our spouses. The goal for the funds raised will go directly towards their rising cost of living, increased medical expenses, basic care necessities, etc. As my Dad is self employed and will be and has been unable to work, as he is my mom's primary caregiver at this point in time.

My parents have always been the type of people who help out others when they're in need. Their generosity is unparralleded and I hope that we can show them some love and support by one or more of the following ways:

- Make a monetary donation. We understand that not everyone is in a position to contribute financially, so if you feel you want to donate, any amount is more than appreciated.

-Buy a piece of Denise's artwork so she can continue her art practice while she is undergoing chemotherapy. She is currently represented by Ottawa's Orange Art Gallery and has been for the past 8 years. There are a ton of paintings on display currently! Unfortunately, Orange Gallery will be closing this year so sooner the better in this case.

Her website is https://Www.deniselandriault.com

For any inquiry about artwork please contact the gallery.

- Share this campaign, her website, Instagram page (@denisedolls), and raise awareness about her artwork.

Lastly, my mom would like to thank each and every person who took the time to read through this campaign and those who chose to donate. We are a close knit family and we will get through this extremely hard time together. Our family is lucky to have the support of aunts, uncles, sisters, cousins, grandchildren and friends.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With love and appreciation,

Denise

Rocky

Marie-Anne

Phillipe

Dominic

Anais

Andrew

Tess