MADELEINE AMELIA SAMUDA

Madeleine Amelia Samuda (née Bayet) passed away peacefully on November 28th, 2024. 

She is survived by her two daughters, Monica and Elizabeth (with Larry); her sister Beatrice Cormier; five grandchildren (Amber, Samuel, Jasmine, Geneviève and Max.); and numerous nieces, nephews, and loving in-laws. She meets in heaven her mother Hilda; father Lucien; husband Kenric; and brother Jack. Some may remember her as Soeur Jean de Jesus, but we knew her as Mom, Maman, Grandma, Grand-maman, sister, and friend.

Madeleine was born in Tysdale, SK, May 19, 1934 and grew up in Hudson Bay Junction. She was fluent in both French and English which was rare for that time. But bilingualism was a necessity to be the translator for her mom and dad.

She had a quiet mastery of many things like sewing, crochet, and knitting, but was a piano prodigy completing her grade 10 piano exams in the 10th grade. Music, words, and creativity held special places of honour in her life starting in boarding school, then the convent, then as the head research librarian at Le College Universitaire de St. Boniface. She found fulfilment in crafts and solace in books. Even after contracting Scarlett Fever at age 7 from clandestinely rescued books at boarding school, her constant companion was literature, namely murder mysteries.

She spoke often of her train trips home for Christmas, carefully carrying gifts for her parents, and managing her two, spirited younger siblings along the way. She would vividly recount the harrowing train ride in the1950s flood in Manitoba. Madeleine would also recount the shenanigans she would get into as a teaching nun with the Sisters of Holy Name of Jesus and Mary at St Mary’s Academy and beyond. The detailed image of nuns cannonballing off the dock at Camp Morten so raucously that she almost broke her neck, will remain a family legend.

Madeleine called many places home: Zenon Park, Hudson Bay, Montreal, St. Mary’s Academy, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jamaica, St Boniface, and Ste Agathe. Either as a mom or a nun, stories abound of her gentleness, kindness, and humour. From sharing the same jokes in Catholic mass as a nun so often that numbers were assigned, the numbers alone would elicit laughter from her best friend, to waking from receiving CPR with a joke for the emergency room doctor, her light and joy left the best marks on our souls.

With her now only in our hearts, we take comfort in her legacy of unconditional love and humour. In the name of Madeleine, Love and Laugh Always.

Madeleine’s celebration of life will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 28th, 2025 at St. Mary’s Academy Chapel at 550 Wellington Crescent. In lieu of flowers, please send or bring a favourite joke that may be shared at her celebration.

Madeleine’s family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

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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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