Wilfrid Legault

Wilfrid Legault

It is with heavy hearts and tears in our eyes, that we announce the passing of Wilfrid Legault July 16, 2022, at the age of 74 years old.  Wilfrid died peacefully, on a beautiful summer day, with his family by his side.

Wilfrid leaves, to cherish his memory, his wife of 52 years Alice (née Syrenne), his children Candace (Craig), Blake (Lisa) and Stacey (Michael) as well as his grandchildren Kennedy (Luc), Maizie, Jonah, Nate, Annika, Faith, and Lexi. Also mourning his loss, are a large extended family of siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.  

Wilfrid was predeceased by his parents Émilien and Cécile Legault as well as his sister Gisèle.

Wilfred was born into a large, loving family in December of 1947 and was the fifth of nine children.   He grew up in Elie Manitoba, on his parents' farm, and spent the majority of his life in Elie, where he went to school and later raised a family, built a home, and established a successful business.

In 1970, Wilfrid married Alice, the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, and soon thereafter they started their own family. The years that followed their marriage were filled with family and work. As a young man, Wilfrid was always busy. He worked as mechanic with Canadian Tire but was constantly going to auctions, looking for deals, buying and selling. Wilf's passion for a good deal led him to Lee River in 1978, where he and Alice purchased their cabin.  Since this time, the cabin has been a cherished place for family and friends to gather and spend time together and an important part of Wilfrid's life. 

In 1981, after being away for 11 years, Wilfrid and Alice moved their family back to Elie following their purchase of the Ford Dealership. Over the next 40 years, Wilfrid built his home, his life, and his business in Elie. Wilfrid worked tirelessly, 6 days a week from early morning until well into the evening.  He grew Wilf's Elie Ford from a small dealership, housed in the current post office, to the successful business we know today.  Wilfrid won many awards and trips from Ford acknowledging his achievements during his years working at "the shop".

His dedication and hard work are the reason that Wilf's Elie Ford is a name known by many Manitobans.

While not working, Wilf enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Weekdays began with coffee, burnt toast and visiting with community members at the Elie Esso.  On Fridays, Wilf and his brothers would go to their mom's house for lunch, and "mom" would serve them homemade soup and buns with strawberry and raspberry preserves for dessert. Weekends were always filled with family and friends who were invited to the cabin for the weekend or for dinner on Sunday nights. Wilf and Alice also spent much of their vacation time traveling. They took many trips together, but there were always holidays which also included family and friends.   Las Vegas, Hawaii, Honduras, Venezuela, Europe, Jamaica, and Mexico are just a few of the places they visited together. Although Wilf was passionate about his work, his cabin and his family, no description of Wilf would be complete without mentioning his love for cribbage.  He played anytime there was an opportunity.  At the manor with his mom, in tournaments at the Legion, with his friends, his brothers and sisters, with his nieces and nephews, with his kids, and with his grandkids. There are few among us who have not lost to Wilf at crib.

In 1997, the disease that Wilfrid had been diagnosed with as a teenager, re-emerged, and began to progressively affect his health and quality of life.  During the last 25 years, living with Multiple Sclerosis challenged Wilfred physically and emotionally as he had to give up many of the things he enjoyed most; the home he built in Elie, living with his family, his work at Wilf's Elie Ford, travel, time at the cabin, and eventually even cribbage. Wilf was stoic and determined when faced with the progression of MS.  He never complained and fought every new loss until there were few options left. But living with a progressive disease took its toll, and although he never complained, he got much quieter and the twinkle in his blue eyes dimmed.

Wilfred's legacy is that he showed us what is important in life. Working hard and enjoying time with family and friends. Simple lessons from a wonderful man.

The family would like to express their gratitude for your kindness and thoughtfulness as they learn to live in a world without Wilfrid in it. 

Celebration of Life will be held Thursday August 11th, 2022, at 1:30pm in the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Elie, Manitoba and will be followed by Funeral Mass at 2:00 pm.

The funeral service will be available to be viewed via Live Streaming. If you would like your name to appear in the guestbook, please email your name to office@afh.ca

Luncheon to follow at the Veteran's Hall in Elie. 

For those who wish, memorial donations in honor of Wilfrid Legault, can be made to the MS Society. https://mssociety.ca

Adam’s Funeral Home of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba in care of arrangements.  Phone 204-248-2201.  To view the service details and leave condolences, please visit www.afh.ca