Before the death of Sister Ste-Rosalie
The family of Mr. & Mrs. J. Choquette had a life span
that totalled 1,000 years
La Tribune, Sherbrooke, May 29, 1963

SHERBROOKE - Before the death of the R.S. Ste-Rosalie, born Odina Choquette, which occured Monday, the 13 living children of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Choquette, both deceased, totalled more than 1,000 life years, which is considered as something very unique in Canada.

The Choquette family comprised of 14 children, but a first death had occured in 1926, when Agnes, Mrs. Leblond, who would have been 75 years old today.

As for R.S. Ste-Rosalie, who died at the age of 85, she was the third child of the family. She had devoted 65 years of her existence to the religious life. After 32 years with the Sisters of the Adoration of the Sacred-Heart, she had obtained permission to join the Missionary Sisters of Notre-Dame of the Angels. Under the guidance of this congregation, she devoted 14 years and 7 months to the Missions in China where she had suffered the worst attrocities of the war.

Her funeral will take place this morning at 9 o'clock, at the Home of the Missionary Sisters of Notre-Dame of the Angels, on Lennoxville Road.

The family

The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Choquette, born Rosalie Rainville, live in every county of the Eastern Township area, as well as their descendants. When they passed away, they had 81 living grand-children. Today, the Choquette family consists of almost 400 members.

Mr. and Mrs, Joseph Choquette had left the Richelieu in 1890, and had established themselves in the region. An exceptional fact, none of their children had died before their golden wedding anniversary celebration. Here are the names of the children and their respective age: Mrs. Francis St-Jacques (Laure), 89 years old, Mrs. Z. Longpre (Angelina), 87 years old, R.S. Ste-Rosalie (Odina), 85 years old, Mr. Dollard Choquette, 83 years old, Mr. Claudimir Choquette, 80 years old, Mrs G. Gingras (Eva), 78 years old, Mrs. Eugene Robert (Marie-Louise), 76 years old, Mrs. O. Richard (Alice), 74 years old, M. Joseph Choquette, 72 years old, R.S. de l'Incarnation (Helene), 71 years old, Mr. Eugene Choquette, 69 years old, Mr. Emile Choquette, 67 years old, and Mrs. J.-A. Roy (Marie-Anne), 62 years old. If we total up all of the ages, we come to the total of 993 years. However, if we total up all of the months, as several are close to their anniversary, the number of 1,000 years is surpassed.