Cecile Blanke

Cecile Blanke

wâpekihew iskwew (White Eagle Woman)

Cecile Blanke (nee LaRocque) passed away in palliative care at Clover House in Swift Current on Monday, October 13, 2025, at the age of 90 years old.  She was born November 12, 1934, at her family home at the south end of Lac Pelletier with a midwife in attendance.  She was born without fingernails and toenails and was not expected to live, so the priest was called to baptize her immediately.  She will be sadly missed by the Métis community in southwest Saskatchewan, one of our few Matriarchs that shared her knowledge and wisdom.

Cecile was predeceased by: her grandparents Leon and Marie Rose (Trottier) LaRocque; her parents Maurice and Lena (Whiteford) LaRocque; and her siblings: Louis LaRocque, Doreen Sadleir, Lawrence LaRocque, Jerry LaRocque, Robert Anderson, and Sandra Anderson.

She was predeceased by her husband Walter Blanke after a marriage of 62 years.  She remembers her special friends and relatives, including Jackie and Peter Jacques, Judy Whiteford, Scott Hunter (Maverick School), Harry Francis, Dale Mosquito, and the Elders and members of Nekaneet First Nation.

She is survived by her children and grandchildren: Evelyn (Wayne Bowman), Douglass, Kansas, Ryan (Alisa) Bowman, Kurtis (Abbee) Bowman; Paul (Ruby) Blanke, Drumheller, AB, Tammy (Shane) Castle; Jennifer (Dennis) Caine, Jason Blanke; Gary (Linda) Blanke, Regina, SK, Jocelyn (Adam) Sia, Meagan (Keane) Sutherland; Clare McNab, Maple Creek, SK, Robert Gillis, Bryana (Conrad) Couture, Genevieve (Darrin) McNab; Jean (Gary Sulzer), Fernie, BC, Tyrel (Julia) Sulzer; and Paula Anderson (Grant Ostapowich), Warman, SK, Josh Ostapowich, Jessica (Landon) Sobush.  Cecile has seventeen great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren.

From her humble beginnings, Cecile excelled in her life.  She attended school at Lac Pelletier Village, Oman School in Swift Current, and Cedar Hill School, attaining her Grade 7.  She later completed her GED 12.  Her early years as a farm wife at the north end of Lac Pelletier, she learned to milk cows, grow a huge garden, canning, and caring for her growing family.  She was clever and could sew wedding gowns, bridesmaid and graduation gowns. She would tailor clothes and the girls in the family were dressed in her creations until they left home.  She learned to make-do with items she had on hand, and the family survived on resources they made from selling eggs and cream (and the yearly sale of cattle and grain).

Cecile grew up in a vibrant Métis community around Lac Pelletier, and she wrote a book about her early life Lac Pelletier: My Métis Home.  While she lived at Lac Pelletier in the 1970s, she continued to maintain those relationships, offering classes in Swift Current, like sewing, learning Cree, and beadwork, and visiting with friends and relatives near and far.  She was the first woman in Saskatchewan to be president of a Métis local (in Swift Current).  Walter and Cecile left the farm and area in 1978, ending up in Drumheller, AB.  When she retired in 2000, she returned to Swift Current.  She was asked by many for talks in schools and churches, and opened events with Michif prayers (Michif is the Métis language, Cecile’s first language).  Cecile loved to hear the fiddle and to dance, and she spent many hours dancing.  Cecile and Walter belonged to the Square Dance club in Drumheller, and they spent many weekends dancing throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Unfortunately, after a knee and hip replacement, she was unable to dance anymore.  She continued to dream of dancing with Walter for the 10 years after his passing.

She was recognized as an Elder in the Métis community, and received many awards for her ongoing work, including: Citizen of the Year in 2010, Order of the Métis Nation in 2014, Everett Baker Award from the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society in 2017, and the Queen’s Medal in 2023.

Cecile was a storyteller.  She had an excellent memory and shared them freely.  She loved talking to everyone and sharing her knowledge and life experiences.

“We are all story … From the moment we enter this physical reality to the moment we depart again as spirit; we are energy moving forward to the fullest possible expression of ourselves.  All the intrepid spirits who come to this reality make that same journey.  In this we are joined.  We are one.  We are, in the end, one story, one song, one spirit, one soul.”  Richard Wagamese, One Story, One Song.

Donations on behalf of Cecile, may be made to:

Diabetes Canada – Saskatchewan Branch

Regional Leadership Centre South

917A Albert Street

Regina, Saskatchewan

S4R 2P6

The funeral service for Cecile will take place on Monday, October 27, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at the First United Church in Swift Current, Saskatchewan with Michele Rowe officiating.  The interment for Cecile will take place at Mount Pleasant Burial Park immediately following the service.

Arrangements Entrusted To:  Warren's Funeral Home.

For further information please call 1-306-773-8831 or 1-800-267-6606, or visit our website at www.warrensfuneralhome.com and express your sympathy to family members on the tribute wall.

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