There’s a reason why Raymonde “Rip” Riopel was considered one of the foremost authorities on Morinville’s hi she lived most of it.
Raymonde G. (Perras) Riopel died of cancer in Edmonton on May 8, 2016. She was 95, and spent all but the last few years of her life working and living in Morinville.
Some 250 people came out to her funeral at the St. Jean Baptiste Church Saturday morning.
“She wore her age like a badge of honour,” said her son, Robert Riopel, speaking at the funeral. She lived her whole life in Morinville.
“Often she was referred to as Morinville’s historian.”
Morinville Coun. Nicole Boutestein, who had Riopel as a teacher, described her as “a pillar of the community” who taught many of the town’s current teachers and principals.
“She was at everything and she was part of everything,” she said.
“Everywhere you would go, you would see her or talk to someone she knew.”
Born on Aug. 7, 1920 to Joseph Perras and Rose-Anne Huot, Riopel grew up in what is now known as Perras Place on 100 Ave. along with seven brothers and sisters. Perras was one of the town’s first residents and likely its first business tycoon, and would eventually own a garage, a hotel, a fleet of trucks, a gravel pit, and a slaughterhouse.
Riopel got her teaching degree in 1939 and initially worked in a one-room schoolhouse, Robert said. She’d drive to school in a horse and buggy and get the kids to jump around and wave their hands until the wood stove fired up.
Riopel would teach at various Morinville schools for 45 years, and set a district record for most consecutive days taught.
“She touched the lives of many, sometimes teaching three generations of the same family,” Robert said. Former students would frequently show up at her classroom for a visit.
In addition to selling insurance, Riopel also raised five kids with her husband Roland during this time, Robert said. The lunches she made for them were popular, and local cattle buyers would always show up at the house at lunch for a bite.
The seven of them shared an 800-square-foot house with a maid and a part-time farm worker, said her eldest son, Paul Riopel.
“It was a crowded little space!” he said – the family joked that they had to take numbers to use the one bathroom.
Paul described Riopel as a strong woman of faith and character who drilled the values of honesty, integrity, and respect into her kids. She was a stickler for education and public speaking, and would act as the kids’ personal trainer for any speeches (whether they liked it or not).
“She would take great pride in seeing you do well.”
Paul said Riopel was very interested in history, and kept boxes and boxes of articles on key figures in Morinville’s history. She was an active member of the Morinville Historical & Cultural Society and naming committee, and helped get Perras Place preserved as a historic site.
Riopel served as a school trustee from 1986 to 1989, and was a volunteer in federal and provincial election campaigns well into her 80s.
“She was a real patriot,” Paul said.
“She taught us the importance of being engaged as citizens.”
Riopel received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee award in 2002 in recognition of her contributions to French and Catholic education. She won the town’s first-ever Legacy Award in 2011 for her contributions to the community.
Despite the fact that many people knew her by it, Paul said that neither he nor his siblings knew of the story behind Riopel’s nickname of “Rip.”
“We do know it was a tag that was with her since a very young age,” he said, and they’ve theorized that it may be from her college ice-hockey days where she would “rip” down the ice.
“She liked to have a few little secrets just to keep life interesting.”
Riopel was buried in the St. Jean Baptiste Catholic cemetery. She is survived by her children, Paul, Jeanne, Robert, Rita, and Suzanne, 10 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
