In loving memory of Mary Alice Rabbitskin a.k.a. JooJet
D.O.B. January 1, 1943 went home July 28, 2008.
First and foremost I would like to thank God for letting me know Mary Alice, also known as JooJet. When I first heard the news it was like a shock to me. I couldn’t believe it I kept saying in my mind it can’t be true. But I know she has gone home to a better place where there is no pain nor sickness.
I knew Mary Alice when I was in Montreal in June. She had told me that she had been there for quite a long time at John Mianscum’s place. She was such a nice, loving, and caring lady. She really enjoyed talking about her children and grandchildren. She really missed them and could hardly wait to go back to Mistissini to see them. She was like a mother, very caring, and showed her love towards me.
Her children always called her and checked up on her to see how she was doing. She would always say “I’m okay, I am not sick”. Even though she was down South she still had the chance to eat traditional food, which she really enjoyed.
I remember one time I was at the shopping mall in Montreal. I saw her with her husband Johnny and his son Paul and with Paul’s family. She was in a wheelchair and her husband was pushing her around. Then we headed to Walmart to do more shopping. Her daughter-in-law Nancy went to look for a wheelchair for her. They did not have one but what they had was much better, it was a scooter. Alice just laughed and said “I will not know how to use that.”
Nancy told her it was very easy so she gave it a try. We told her it was like a bike but don’t push the button too fast and she laughed again. The scooter had a basket on the front of it. Once she got on she rode the scooter and we all walked behind her. We all laughed as she drove it. Nancy’s daughter Kara was so amazed at her grandmother.
When we arrived at the store we went our different ways. I could see Mary Alice driving around and talking on her cell phone at the same time. I could hear her laughing away. She was able to drive that scooter with no problem at all.
After our shopping was done we went to have supper. After supper Paul drove us back to John’s place where we said our goodbyes. When we arrived at John’s place Mary Alice was sharing her story about the scooter. Everybody who was there laughed with her. She said, with a laugh, “Now I can drive a car!”
Every time I went to visit my mother at the hospital Mary Alice would always ask me how she was doing, so I would tell her about her situation. She always gave me advice and said to not worry about her. I would tell her “I will tell my mom what you said.”. She did that every time I came back from visiting my mom.
You could tell she really cared for her and for other people. She always reminded me not to worry about my mom and that she would be okay. I always told her that there was someone watching over her day and night.
I can still remember her cell phone ring tone: I Walk the Line. I asked her about it and she replied that her granddaughter Shirley-Ann did it for her. I told her “Wow!” and she just laughed.
Even though I only knew her for awhile, I felt as if I knew her for a long time. I will surely miss her and cherish memories of her close to my heart. I had a lot of love for her, her husband, her children and grandchildren.
To the family and children of the late Mary Alice Rabbitskin:
Thank you for letting me have the privilege of getting to know your mother/grandmother, she was a very special and caring lady with a lot of wisdom and knowledge of the traditional way of life.
With love and prayers,
Stephanie Meskino