Obituary of Linda May Arsenault
The passing of Linda M Arsenault (nee Farrell), RN aged 75, occurred peacefully on June 13th, 2024, at the home of her daughter in Rustico. Linda was the daughter of the late Leo and Amy Farrell. She will be missed by her loving husband Blair, her caring daughters Dylana Arsenault (Cory Hogg) and Angela Arsenault (Dwayne McMillan) and their children (Kaitlyn Thompkins and Liam, Emilie, Rhys, and Julia McMillan). She is survived by her siblings and their families: Irene Gaudet (Richard), David Farrell (Bonnie MacKinnon), Anne Farrell (Frank Gaudet); and Victor Farrell; and by her in-laws, Ray and Elizabeth Doiron and their family. She will also be missed by her former nursing colleagues as well as her excellent friends Gail Mueller, Diane Boland, Rosemarie and Eddie Gallant, Barry and Sandra Mills, and John and Marilyn Lane.
As a proud nurse of 53 years, who worked until the age of 73, Linda practiced in a variety of settings. In her early years she was an RN on the Obstetrical and Mental Health units at Prince County Hospital. Later in her career, Linda worked for the Victorian Order of Nurses and soon became the PEI Director. Linda spent the last years of her career working for a private home care company supporting patients from Tignish to Souris, with her husband Blair as her navigational Co-Pilot. She and Blair made many friends along her travels. As an alternative to nursing, Linda spent several summers as the coordinator of day-to-day events at Green Park Shipbuilding and Yeo House. Linda believed in giving back to her community, and along with her trusty co-pilot Blair, they spent Wednesdays delivering meals to seniors as part of the Meals on Wheels program. Linda also believed in life-long learning and in the early 90’s she completed her second degree at UPEI, a Bachelors of Education.
Among her joys were her well-loved cats- Sophie, Lexi and Nyla - who were drawn to her by her gentleness. She also devoured all Agatha Christie novels and many televised British mysteries. She was the queen at figuring out “who had done it” before anyone else. She loved dining with friends and family and was especially proud to serve up her fish casserole. During the last 8 months of her life, Linda most enjoyed all of the visits, special coffee dates and PCH Garden strolls with her dedicated family and friends, who visited religiously multiple times a week. The nurses would teasingly say that Linda had more of a social life than they did. We are so grateful for their love and dedication.
Such was her belief in the advancement of nursing and science, she requested that her remains be donated to the Human Body Donation Program out of the Department of Medical and Neurosciences at Dalhousie University. This program honours Linda’s wish to leave a lasting legacy of continuous learning by contributing to the teaching of our next generation of health professionals.
Our family would like to thank the wonderful staff and teams on Unit 1 and Unit 3 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Medical Unit staff at Prince County Hospital and the community-based Home Care Team, the COACH (Caring for Older Adults in the Community and at Home) program, and the Integrated Palliative Care team who all went above and beyond to meet Linda’s needs. We would not have been able to bring Linda home to enjoy feline cuddles and our wonderful Prince Edward Island sunsets with her husband by her side without their support and guidance.
Donations can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association http://crm2.diabetes.ca/, the Alzheimer’s Society of PEI https://alzheimer.ca/pei/en/take-action/donate, or the SPCA https://peihumanesociety.com/donate/.
Since Linda has chosen to donate her body to the Dalhousie Medical School, a celebration of Linda’s life will be held on July 6th from 1:00- 4:00 at the home of Bonnie and David Farrell (Central Lot 16 directly across from the Central Lot 16 United Church).