New Brunswick

Mrs. Vitaline Lanteigne of Caraquet, New Brunswick, was the 1962 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1962, at age 73, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada. She was the first French Canadian and the first from New Brunswick to be selected.

On June 12, 1944, her son, Private Jean Baptiste Lanteigne, was killed in action in France while serving with Le Régiment de la Chaudière.

On August 14, 1944, a second son, Private Philippe Joseph Lanteigne, was also killed in France while serving with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal.

On September 15, 1944, a third son, Lance Corporal Arthur Lanteigne, was killed in action in Italy while serving with the Royal 22^e Regiment.

Born on December 9, 1889, Vitaline is the daughter of Odilon and Marguerite Doiron of Caraquet. She married Dominique Lanteigne on November 11, 1907. Five of her 13 sons enlisted during the Second World War. Three did not return, dying within three months of each other. Her surviving sons returned home wounded. Lucien was wounded at Dieppe and Daniel was wounded in the Netherlands.

Mrs. Lanteigne died in 1984.

Mrs. Greta Steeves of Elgin, New Brunswick, was the 1980 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1980, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On July 7, 1941, her son, Sergeant John Chesley Steeves, died during a training exercise in Northern Scotland while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On October 14, 1945, a second son, Lance Corporal Russell Weldon Steeves, died from injuries sustained while serving with the Carleton and York Regiment.

Mrs. Greta Steeves was born on March 27, 1896 in Meadow, New Brunswick. She married Chesley Weldon Steeves. Together they raised their ten children-- Marguerite, Ethel, Phyllis, Russell, John, Albert, Vincent, Lee, Richard and Stephen.

Mrs. Ida Orser of Hartland, New Brunswick, was the 1992 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1992, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On February 28, 1945, her son, Sergeant Ivan Malcolm Orser, was killed in action in Calcar, Germany while serving with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

Ida Elizabeth Orser, née Loupin married George Bliss Orser. They had five children, Ivan Malcolm, Gerald George, Eldon Reginald, Geraldine Kathryn and Elizabeth Anna Marie.

Mrs. Orser joined the Ladies Auxiliary in January 1936, one year after the Auxiliary Charter. She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Life Membership and Certificate of Merit in recognition of her faithful Service.

Mrs. Mabel Girouard, from Bathurst, New Brunswick, was the 2010 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2010, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On November 27, 2006, her son, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Michel Girouard, serving as the regimental sergeant major for the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group, was killed by a suicide car bomber while on duty near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Mrs. Girouard was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, and attended Bouctouche High School. In August 1959, she married Vincent Girouard and they had three children, Pierre Joseph, Charles Vincent and Robert Michel.

Mrs. Girouard is retired from New Brunswick Telephone where she was employed as a telephone operator and office worker.

Mrs. Gisèle Michaud, of Edmundston, New Brunswick, was the 2014 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother and the fifth mother from New Brunswick to be named by the Royal Canadian Legion. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2014, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On June 23, 2009, her youngest son, Master Corporal Charles-Philippe Michaud, was mortally wounded after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Panjwayi District, southwest of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. He was transported to a Québec City hospital on June 28, 2009 and passed away on July 4 of that same year. Master Corporal Charles-Philippe has an older brother, Denis.

Mrs. Michaud was born and raised in Edmundston, New Brunswick. In 1971, she married Conrad Michaud. She worked in retail, but is now retired.

She has undertaken a number of activities to honour her son’s memory. She has hosted large delegations of soldiers from Master Corporal Michaud’s battalion in Edmundston on each anniversary of her son’s passing and on Remembrance Day. Mrs. Michaud, accompanied by her husband and her eldest son, travelled to Kandahar in November 2010.

Debbie Sullivan grew up in the countryside near Saint John, New Brunswick. She had two energetic children and rewarding work as a crisis counsellor, a truck driver and service in the Canadian Army Reserve. 

As the National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother, Mrs. Sullivan laid a wreath at the National War Memorial on 11 November 2020 on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost a son or a daughter in the military either in action or in the course of his/her normal duty. Throughout the year she will also be called upon to perform other duties honouring the Fallen from all conflicts.

She lost her son, Lieutenant Chris Saunders, on October 6, 2004, while he served with the Navy.

As a young girl, Debbie was a member of the Westfield United Church and choir, Canadian Girls in Training (CGIT) and Sea Cadets. She graduated from Rothesay Regional High School and pursued legal secretarial studies at Compu College in Saint John. Her son Christopher, was born in 1972 and her daughter Melissa a few years later.

When her children were young, Debbie volunteered helping seniors run businesses, pay bills, and network to get the help they needed. Later as a crisis line counsellor and member of a multi-disciplinary task force on crisis intervention, she volunteered with the Rothesay Regional and Saint John Police Departments. Debbie served in the Army Reserves from 1990-1994 working on administration, logistics, and recruiting.

While in Halifax to receive the Silver Cross, Debbie met with her son’s former mates and peers who performed a special ceremony to make her an honourary submariner – a true thrill for her. “My husband and I know that with young men and women like them, we are in good shape for the future”.