901 CHARLOTTE FORTIER (1913-2005) ROBERT BASTIEN (Joseph-Hugues + Marie-Blanche Riverin) Joseph-Hugues Fortier > Richard F. + Elise Anne Taschereau > Gabriel + Hermine Fortier > Richard A. + Louise Julie Taschereau > Jean-François + Béatrice Poulin > Joseph-Mrie + Béatrice Pouliot > Antoine + Madeleine Noel > Antoine + M. Madeleine Cadieux > Noel + Marthe Golle Ottawa Citizen 2005-8-4 BASTIEN, Charlotte (Fortier) (1913 - 2005) "Va ou tu veux, meurs ou tu dois" Died at the Montfort Hospital, Ottawa, Thursday, 28 July, 2005 with her devoted caregiver Anne Popescou at her side. Born in Ste. Marie de Beauce, Quebec, on 9 October 1913, the beloved and loving daughter of the late Marie-Blanche Riverin (1888-1949) and the late Joseph-Hughes Fortier (1877-1955), lawyer, liberal MLA for Beauce County 1920-1929 and Juge a la Cour des sessions de la paix at Quebec and magistrat de police 1929-1947. Also predeceased by her much loved brother M. Guy Fortier (1910-1996), lawyer and greffier-audiencier at the Cour superieure in Quebec City from 1943-1971 and greffier de la Cour d'appel from 1971 until his retirement in 1975. Charlotte was educated at the Couvent de la Congregation de Notre-Dame in Ste. Marie de Beauce and at the Couvent des Soeurs de Jesus-Marie at Sillery, thereafter taking courses in Spanish and German at Laval University and during the 1950s, courses in library science at the University of Ottawa. Given her deep pride in her Fortier-Taschereau-Riverin family origins in the Beauce, her family background in medicine, law and politics, her avid interest in books and the streak of independence which she showed from a young age, it was not surprising that these would be the key elements throughout her life and subsequent career. Married to the late Robert Bastien in 1940 they soon separated and later divorced. Previously, Charlotte had been much involved in charity work and had done some secretarial work for various young lawyers in Quebec City. At the invitation of the French Consulate she moved to Ottawa in 1944 and worked for the French Embassy, latterly in connection with the promotion of French culture throughout Canada, until 1954 - her multilingual ability, particularly her working knowledge of German, was helpful in this regard and at one point prior to the end of the war she was sent to Washington, DC to translate German documents for the embassy. During her mother's terminal illness in 1949 Charlotte took a leave of absence to help nurse her and then to reorganize her father's and brother's living arrangements. In January 1954 she joined the staff of the Library of Parliament, initially as private secretary to Guy Sylvestre, then Associate Parliamentary Librarian, and subsequently as the Head of the Library's Index Section, tasked with the indexing of House and Senate Committee proceedings and reports. Her technical and administrative abilities in this regard were frequently commended throughout her tenure of this position, and publicly acknowledged by the presentation of one of the two Queen's Jubilee medals allocated to the Library of Parliament in 1977. Charlotte retired from the Library of Parliament's service the following year. Possessed of a striking rather than a conventional beauty, with a sharply honed intellect and well-stocked mind, Charlotte was always forthright and rarely at a loss for words to express her opinions. Essentially a very private person, she valued and fiercly defended her independent lifestyle. Throughout her long years in Ottawa she led a very active social life with many friends and acquaintances from Beauce and Quebec City days temporarily and permanently settled in the capital, and with numerous new acquaintances from the cultural, political and University of Ottawa circles she frequented. Sadly she was predeceased by many of her older Ottawa friends, including the late Dr. Antony Fidler, Therese Foster, Madeleine Ouimet, Yvette Chevrier, Simone Chiasson and Michel Gauvin, but fortunate in the strength and support of those who remained, such as Anne Cullen-Carrera, Peter Greig and Guy Mattar. Her attachment to her Beauce roots was ever strong, as was her lifelong love of animals, and to the end she spoke warmly of her years growing up as a "tom-boy" in Ste. Marie and her various well-beloved cats (Bella, her last cat-companion died in March 2005). She leaves to mourn her an adopted sister, Marie Couture, in Quebec City, numerous Fortier and Taschereau cousins, including Jacques Fafard, Yves Fortier, Yves Zoltvany, as well as her friends in Ottawa. A memorial service will be held in the chapel of Racine, Robert and Gauthier Funeral Home, 180 Montreal Road, on Friday August 5, 2005 at 11 a.m. Cremation and interment to follow at a date to be announced (at the family lot in the cemetery at Ste. Marie de Beauce.) Donations to your local humane society or to the charity of your choice.