It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mrs May Primeau, spouse of the late Hervé Deneault. May passed away peacefully at the age of 97 on August 20th 2025 in La Prairie at the CHSLD Trefle D’or – her home since February 2019. She leaves to mourn her children Shirley (John), Michel (Lynn), Carl (late Dorothy), Leonard (Domenica), Nancy (Garry) and Joyce (Patrick), her grandchildren Ricky, Angela, late Michael, Julie, Kyle, Randy, Mark, Kathleen, Sean, Sarah, Nathalie and Christian, her 20 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-grandchildren, and several generations of nieces and nephews.
Flora May was born in Cohoes New York and at the age of 9 migrated to St-Jean Chrysostome, Quebec with her family. May was the youngest of three children and she is predeceased by her siblings, sister Madeline Martin and brother Aubrey Primeau. May met her husband Hervé on August 11th 1946. They were married on January 31st 1948 and remained in St-Jean Chrysostome until they eventually moved to Hemmingford where their youngest daughter was born. After being widowed at the age of 46, May left Hemmingford for a period of time and eventually returned where she met up with her childhood sweetheart Noel Betournay and they remained friends until his death in February 2014.
Throughout the years she worked at various jobs including Clark’s Bean Factory, Jeremie Dauphinais Apple Orchard, Hemmingford Frontiere Inn and the Hemmingford Golf Club from where she retired in the mid 90’s. She had many friends but maintained a special bond with childhood classmates Catherine Costello Tobin (deceased 2020) and Sister Rita “Isabella Mary” Bracken (deceased 2017). She loved playing cards every Monday at the Old Convent, often went to bingo with her sister-in-law Stella Deneault Gagné (deceased 2019) and enjoyed playing Skip-Bo with her good friend Helen Enderle. She often went back home, as she would say, to visit her sons and family throughout the United States and visited her daughter in Western Canada a number of times. She travelled some, to places like Graceland and Disneyworld but she was especially fond of her Alaskan cruise with her siblings as it was their last trip as a family unit.
She will be missed and fondly remembered by her large family and friends throughout the United States and Canada.
The family will receive condolences at Saint Romain Catholic church in Hemmingford on Friday September 5th 2025 from 12 h 30pm followed by a funeral service at 2pm then to St-Jean Chrysostome Cemetery, 608, rue Notre-Dame, St-Chrysostome, Qc J0S 1R0, for the burial. A celebration of life will follow at the Hemmingford Golf Club.
In memory of May, donations to the Saint Roman Catholic Church can be made, 541, rue Frontière, Hemmingford, Qc, J0L1H0.
Serre & Finnegan
1-800-263-3074
www.serrefinnegan.com