The Memorial Candle Program has been designed to help offset the costs associated with the hosting this Tribute Website in perpetuity. Through the lighting of a memorial candle, your thoughtful gesture will be recorded in the Book of Memories and the proceeds will go directly towards helping ensure that the family and friends of Alma Bessuille can continue to memorialize, re-visit, interact with each other and enhance this tribute for future generations.

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Alma Bessuille
In Memory of
Alma
Bessuille
1917 - 2016
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The lighting of a Memorial Candle not only provides a gesture of sympathy and support to the immediate family during their time of need but also provides the gift of extending the Book of Memories for future generations.

The House that Alma was born in

This house is where Alma was born and is still standing in Vancouver on Euclid Avenue and lived in today.  It was built by her father (my grandfather) after he arrived in Vancouver from Italy in 1907.  It was built sometime between 1907 and 1910 by him with is bare hands and with the help of two of his brothers, who also came to Vancouver with him. After completing the house, he went back to Italy to marry his betrothed in January, 1911, and retuned with his pregnant wife (my grandmother) in April,1911.  Because of the arduous journey across the Atlantic to New York and then to Vancouver (by train, we presume) their first child was prematurley stillborn.  Their second child, Alma's oldest Sister, Elda, was born in this house in August, 1912. She was followed by her Twin Sisters, Rose and Mary, born in thiis house in April,1914.  Alma was born in this house in March, 1917.  After Alma, another child was born in this house, but died shortly after birth.  My grandmother was taking no chances for their next child and Alma's only brother, Renato (Ben) was born in a Clinic in May, 1921.  Since Alma, my Mother, is the last of the sisters and brother to survive, this house has outlived them all.  This house did not have a bathroom in it originally as my mother recalls using an outhouse as a little girl.  My grandfather did add indoor plumbing on the 2nd floor at some point because my mother recalled the problems of 4 girls, 1 boy and her parents all using just one bathroom.

Posted by Ray Bessuille
Friday December 30, 2016 at 5:26 pm
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