Roland Dumonceaux

Roland was born on the family farm in Langbank, Saskatchewan on April 9, 1932 to Camille and Rose (née Filteau) Dumonceaux. On February 10, 2019 he passed away peacefully with family by his side at Southdale Hospital. Roland attended school in a one-room school house until the age of nine. Wishing for a better life and education, his parents sent him to a boarding school in St. Boniface, Manitoba. During the summers, he would return home to work on the farm. Roland continued his education at the University of Manitoba, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Doctor of Medicine degree. During his college years, he worked as a porter on the Canadian Pacific Railway, traveling from coast to coast throughout Canada. He also drove taxis to support himself. He was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force Reserves, serving as a physician for mercy missions on the weekends. He met his wife, Elaine, during his internship at Winnipeg General Hospital. They were married in Winnipeg on June 6, 1962. The couple first lived in Selkirk, Manitoba, then moved to Hallock, Minnesota and in 1966 finally settled in Edina, Minnesota. Roland was a wonderful husband until the very end. He often told Elaine what a wonderful wife and mother she was. He mentioned how lucky he was to have married her and how much he loved her. As a father he was so proud of his children. He instilled in them the value of hard work by being a wonderful role model. He was extremely proud of all of John's academic achievements, and enjoyed coaching John’s hockey team. He went over-board in “helping” build a beautiful classic guitar for John’s sixth grade project. He even helped build theatre sets for John’s fraternity. He also spent many hours helping John restore an old Mustang convertible (breaking his thumb in the process). He referred to Nicole as his red-headed, freckle-faced rascal. Roland's career as a physician was instrumental in helping Nicole beat the odds in her struggle with cystic fibrosis and her double lung transplant. He beamed with joy and always jumped at every opportunity he had to watch her figure skating. He enjoyed his many conversations with his son-in-law, Travis. The two were close, and Roland was comforted by the fact he knew Travis would always take care of his daughter Nicole. Roland was a perfectionist and skilled at everything he did. If he didn’t know how to do something, he would find a book and learn. Together, Roland and Elaine designed and built their house, doing everything themselves. He built computers, stereos, furniture, guitars, and Pinewood Derby cars. There was nothing he could not build or fix. He played the violin, harmonica, and piano. He was fascinated with languages; He was fluent in French and Latin and studied German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Ukrainian, and Russian. Roland continued to stimulate his mind by doing the daily crossword puzzle. You would always find him doing a Sudoku or sitting at the table with a jigsaw puzzle. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Aimé and his sister Olive. He is survived by his wife Elaine of 57 years, his children John and Nicole (Travis Malnar), and sister Yvette. An open house to celebrate Roland's life will be held at his home on Sunday, March 3rd from 1:00-4:00 P.M.