Obituary of Hilda Theresa St. Hilaire

HILDA THERESA JOCK ST. HILAIRE Funeral services for Hilda Theresa Jock St. Hilaire, age 94, of County Route 4, Bombay, NY, will be held Monday April 24, 2023, from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at the Cappello-McKenzie & Cosgrove funeral home in Fort Covington. A funeral mass will be held at 11 am on Tuesday at St. Mary’s of the Fort, Fort Covington with burial in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Bombay immediately following. Mrs. St. Hilaire passed away on Tuesday April 18th at her home in Bombay under the care of Hospice and her loving family. She was known as Mom, Gram, GG, Aunt Hilda and “everybody’s Grandma” to her six children, 20 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren, over 100 nieces, nephews and the many other children whose lives she touched. Born on November 28, 1928 to Martha Walsh Reardon Jock and George Jock, Hilda devoted her life to her family, her church and community. While not the youngest, she was always considered the “baby” of her family and was the last of 22 with 21 brothers and sisters predeceasing her. The keeper of the family history, she often delighted her family with stories of the one room school house she attended after “walking miles in the snow to get there,” life on the farm where everybody had to do their part, days before electricity when the ice had to be chipped off the bucket of water in the morning to wash for the day and how the country doctor would come on his horse and buggy when someone was sick. Hilda often told tales of how her mother would shelter those who were traveling to Canada for safe passage having fled the life of servitude in the South. She remembered how the family provided a safe haven on their farm and a meal from their stores. During the depression, it was not uncommon for her family to share their farm bounty with their less fortunate neighbors. And she recounted often a Depression Era Christmas when they all felt blessed to find an orange in their stockings, courtesy of their oldest brother, Vincent, who worked delivering mail via the railroad. Her childhood knew no border as her mother, who hailed from Valleyfield, Que to marry a Bombay, NY farmer, traveled easily into Canada to see aunts, uncles and cousins. It was not unusual for members of the bi-national family to spend weeks in one country or the other. In 1950 Hilda married Leon B. St. Hilaire whom she met on a double date with her friends Winona Marshall and Hugh McQuinn at the popular Trumble’s Dance Hall in Brushton. The McQuinns and St. Hilaires maintained their friendship throughout their lives with their families spending many holidays and weekends with each other. Hilda and Winona talked weekly until last year when Winona passed away at age 90. Hilda and Leon had six children: Darlene (wife of Joseph Seymour), Ogdensburg, who passed away in 2019; Karen St. Hilaire, partner of Patricia McKeown, Brasher; Leon St. Hilaire, husband of Kathy Keyser St. Hilaire, Bangor; Monica Beebe, wife of Ralph Beebe, Malone; Ellyn St. Hilaire-Tabb, wife of Willie “Bill” Tabb, Pierrepont; and Mary Jo Berkley, wife of Richard “Rick” Berkley, Camden, TN. She had 20 grandchildren: Brian (Jennifer) Seymour of Charlotte, NC., Jamie (Shaelyn Garrand) St. Hilaire, Bangor; Joel St. Hilaire, Massena, Sarah (Gerald) Van Guilder of Liverpool, NY; Kari (Michael) O’Hare, Malone; Clayton (Melissa) Beebe, Malone; Michael (Lacey) Beebe, Malone; Meagan (Randy) Harkness, Malone, John Beebe, Malone and Christopher (Jenni) Beebe, Malone; Justin Dobbs, Canton; Larecus Dobbs, Canton; Erin (Curtis) Morgan of Camden, Tennessee; Zachary (Amanda) Day, Camden, Tennessee; Emily Tuper, Massena; Hilary (Michael) Donalis, Malone; and Austin (Kayla Stockwell), Tuper of Potsdam. Her great grandchildren were an important part of her life and she was continuously surrounded by them: Katie, Alex and Declan Seymour; Audrey, Wyatt, Garrett, and Sophie St. Hilaire; Alyvia, Easton, Gabby, Connor, Hannah, Quinn and Matthew Beebe; Gracie O’Hare; Jack and Sam Harkness, Will and Emma Tuper; Serenity and Declan Stockwell; Kane Morgan; Sandor, Lillian, and Mary Jane Donalis. Hilda was an active member of her church, and the Bombay Fire Department Auxiliary in her younger days. She and Leon operated a “country store” for years where the customers gathered nightly around an old wood stove to share the happenings of the neighborhood. She was also known for her daily bread baking and her doughnuts that saw her brothers and sisters just “stop by” when they knew the doughnuts were just out of the fryer. When her husband was stricken with heart issues, then passed at age 48 leaving her with three young children at home, Hilda went to work first at Kinney Drugs in Malone and later became the Democratic Election Commissioner for Franklin County, a position she held until her retirement in 1994. She also served as the Justice of the Peace for the Town of Bombay for several years. Hilda took her first trip out of the country in 1981 (at the age of 52) with a church pilgrimage to Medjugorje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (formerly Yugoslavia). That sparked her love of traveling and she then organized several cruises and trips for as many as 10 friends at a time for several years. Her travels led her to Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and several Caribbean countries. She also traveled for many years with her daughter Darlene to spend the winters in Florida. Hilda was predeceased by her mother, Martha Walsh Reardon Jock, father, George Jock, fifteen brothers: Vincent, Charles, Walter, Michael, Thomas, Joseph, Edward and William Reardon; John, Floyd, Leo, Wilfred, Andrew, Edward and Gerald Jock and six sisters: Stella Barse, Mary Smith, Anne Ghostlaw, Regina Grady, Florence Jock, and Lena Jock. Besides her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, she leaves behind many special nieces and nephews who looked to her as the family matriarch. Donations in Hilda’s name may be made to the Hospice of the North Country, Alice Ballard Fund. Arrangements are under the care of the Cappiello-McKenzie & Cosgrove Funeral Home in Fort Covington. Those wishing may leave online condolences at www.brusofuneralservice.com.