Cecile (Cilette) Louise Bourges (nee Florent-Giard)

Cecile (Cilette) Louise Bourges (nee Florent-Giard) - Raismes, France August 24, 1934 – Calgary, Alberta June 18, 2022

We are very sad to announce the peaceful passing of our beautiful Cilette on June 18, 2022, a few weeks shy of her 88th birthday. Cilette loved her large extended family and many lifelong friends. She loved travel, nature, words and word origins, fashion, witty banter, beautiful objects, music, art, and large dinner gatherings serving great food. She was artistic and inventive.

Cilette was the fifth of seven children born to Louis and Therese (Béal) Florent-Giard. Cilette’s early years were spent in France during World War II which had the family moving through the country to escape the ravages of war, leading her to live her life with care and gratitude. In her late teens she met Alain when her good friend Marie-Jo introduced Cilette to her older brother during a vacation to their family home in Normandie. Although Alain soon left for Canada, he returned to France at the end of his studies to marry Cecile whom he whisked off to Canada bringing her to Calgary (a then small prairies town) in the dead of winter 1960. Together Cilette and “le Bourges” started their adventure in a place she considered as ‘l’hiver.’ They quickly developed friendships which would be lifelong. By 1964 they were parents to three daughters. This is also the year they built their cabin along the Bow River in Canmore with a steadfast view (fittingly) of the Three Sisters, which became a revered hub for hosting friends and relatives. Frequent trips back to France always entailed large and epic family reunions. By 1977 Cilette had earned B.Ed. and M.A. degrees from the University of Calgary which led her to her teaching career in French Immersion; the entirety of which was at Andrew Davidson Elementary School. After retiring in 1992, Cilette looked forward to the yearly reunions with her cherished teacher friends as their ‘reine mère’! In retirement, Cilette and Alain discovered Melaque, Mexico where they spent winters for close to twenty years and became part of a great group of fellow francophone snowbirds.

Cilette leaves to mourn her three daughters Valerie, Claire (Dan), and Marie France (Theo); her beloved grandchildren Nico, Gabriel, Sophie, and Daisy; and her sister Nöelle. She was predeceased by Alain, her husband of almost sixty years, in 2018. 

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Cecile’s ‘angels’ over the last two years at her Chartwell Eau Claire residence, who could not have been more loving. A celebration of Cilette’s life will occur in August, details to follow.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cecile (Cilette) Louise Bourges (nee Florent-Giard), please visit our floral store.