TERRI PARENTEAU

With her family at her side, Terri Parenteau passed away at Riverview Health Centre on December 15, 2022. After suffering from a massive stroke in 2020, and living with the complications, Terri is finally at peace.

Terri was born in Dryden Ontario on April 22, 1967 to Rene and Ted Taylor – completing their family of five. She spent most of her time with her family and friends – ever the social butterfly even from a young age. As a child she would spend winters figure skating and summers at the lake. She was always busy – babysitting for local families, running the bait shop, and spending all her free time with her social circle.

After graduating, Terri went to Confederation College in Thunder Bay to become a Child & Youth Care Worker. It was there that she met her first husband and future father of her children. She graduated with a diploma, married Al Parenteau, gave birth to their first child Alyssa, who was sadly stillborn, and then moved back to Dryden. Back in her hometown, the Parenteaus then had two more children, a daughter Jordin and then four years later, a son named Nick. After nearly 11 years of marriage, Terri and Al decided to divorce.

Online dating proved to be a whole new experience for Terri in 2000, as she tried to navigate the dating world after her divorce. It didn’t take too long for her to find someone that made her laugh like no other – Aaron Sutherland. She gave him a carrot (aka swiped right) and he drove in from Sioux Lookout to have a coffee at Robins. Soon they began to date while the kids were out with their dad or grandparents. After several months, Terri finally introduced her man to her kids – which ended in slight disaster and pure laughter, as Nick pulled on Aaron’s back pockets causing the adult to fall on him. After over a year of dating, Terri and her children relocated to Winnipeg to move with Aaron and his daughter.

Working at a youth centre, Terri’s passion for helping others and her radiant personality shone as she advocated for troubled youth in both care homes and then in schools as an Education Assistant. In her children’s social circles, Terri was always the “fun mom” that would blast Top 40 from the radio and know all the slang, much to the chagrin of her children.  Terri made her home a safe place for neighbour kids or those wanting nonjudgmental advice.

Terri’s happiest place was always the water. Once she was able to, she and her husband would vacation in Mexico, drinking tequila and swimming with turtles. They would spend a week exploring grottos, villages, marketplaces, and beaches. They were even married on the beach in Puerto Vallarta with their friends at their side. No matter where they went, Terri was always able to make a new friend or five – even planning future vacations to meet up with these holiday friends.

As her health began to decline, Terri was not a person to sit passively in pain. Instead, she sought out literature and community in her struggle for a proper diagnosis. Even while in constant pain, Terri would reach out to the members in her Lyme community to uplift and support others in the same position as her. She cherished these connections, and it brought so much light into her life when her body was working against her.

In August 2020, Terri suffered a massive stroke and began a long road to rehabilitation in the middle of the pandemic. After countless setbacks and complications, Terri passed away peacefully in her room at Riverview Health Centre.

Predeceased by her first-born daughter, both her parents and her grandparents, Terri leaves to mourn her partner of over 20 years, Aaron Sutherland, her two children: Jordin & Nick (and his fiancée Jayne), her lifelong best friend Leanne Hus, as well as her furbabies that she loved so much: Oliver, Osito, and Sadie Jane.

At her request, in lieu of a funeral service, please leave a comment on this page to share stories of the woman that was Terri Taylor Parenteau.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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