Claudette Dion is a person who found her place in the sun that was occupied by her sister Celine. During our conversation, she constantly praised her parents and siblings.
She reiterated to me that people wanted to know about her relationship with her sister, Celine, which she described to me as one of love for her sister and pride in what Celine brought to the Dion family. However, I replied that at the end of the week Celine’s film was released, but that today was Claudette’s day, Celine’s godmother.
Claudette, daughter of Adhémar and Thérèse Tanguay-Dion, was born in La Tuque, the third of a family of fourteen children. She is executive director and spokesperson for the Maman Dion Foundation. And we shouldn’t forget his passion for music and the artistic world.
Her father didn’t want to have children.
Dad wanted to be a rich and successful businessman. Mom made her understand that children meant wealth and family prosperity for her.
You lived in La Tuque until you were 4 years old.
My father often left the house because he worked as a lumber driver. Mom thought the house had become too small for the family, which was growing every year.
On the way to Charlemagne.
My aunt had found a job as an upholsterer for my father and we lived on rue Saint-Jacques. My mother then convinced my father to build a house with rents on the second floor that would pay the house taxes.
Final destination: 130, rue Notre-Dame.
My father explained to my mother that paying the taxes was fine, but the children’s many trips to their activities by car or bus had become an impossible mission.
Your father was a butcher.
He was a butcher for a co-op and to tell you the truth he allowed us to be spoiled because he came home with cuts of ham, pork and beef that weren’t being sold.
Her parents set a good example.
My dad worked very hard and mom was the first to cook our lunch and the last to bed to make sure her kids had everything they needed.
Music is an integral part of the family.
My mother playing the violin and my father playing the accordion are unforgettable moments that I still cherish to this day.
stop crying and sing
My mother’s voice still rings in my ears because we often cried while washing the dishes. “Adhemar, bring your accordion to us”. We sang as a family: The Bells of Love.
Her father was an innovator.
There were four of us in one room. Dad put drawers in the walls with our name in front of each drawer. Yes, he put drawers in the walls of our bedrooms.
” I believe in you “.
When my parents played accordion and violin at weddings, I kept the youngest in the family. I will never forget my mother’s words as she left the house: “Claudette, I trust you”.
your first job
My father worked at Metro Quintal, and when I was 13, I worked with him at a clothing company on the weekends. Not to mention the times I mopped and washed the floor at Grandma’s.
Were you athletic at school?
I competed in high jump competitions against other schools. I loved speed skating, but I had a problem I had to overcome. At home there weren’t any more white skates for girls my size, so I skated in my brothers’ skates.
Family holiday.
It was impossible for all of us to get into my father’s car, so my uncle joined us to drive to La Tuque. Mama wanted us to discover Gaspésie, especially since Lake Tanguay bears the name of our grandfather, a great builder in the region.
You have won several dance competitions.
My brother Clément and I attended the Jean Baptiste Meilleur high school in Repentigny. Thanks to the support of our music teacher, who gave us dance lessons during the lunch break, we won several dance competitions.
The phone was almost out of reach.
We must not forget that there were several of us at home. Use of the telephone on the wall was limited to two minutes per call.
The baptism of the twins left you with an unforgettable memory.
The guests arrived at the church. Mama had spent the night knitting their little hats and then preparing food for the visit. “Mom, you’re wearing a beautiful new dress.”
It wasn’t a new dress.
No, it was her Christmas dress, which she had shortened in length and cut off the sleeves to make it look fashionable. I was in awe of my mother as I saw her proudly holding the twins in her arms, in her outfit that she had customized. An extraordinary mother.
The St-François d’Assise crèche has shaped your life.
When I visited the St-François d’Assise crèche in Pointe-aux-Trembles, I was overwhelmed to see so many abandoned children or orphans. I took a childcare class to help these children, including an eight-month-old and his two-year-old sister who I had to teach to walk.
you have a beautiful family
For 30 years now, my spouse Serge has been a wonderful man who tells me after each of my shows that he admires me just as much as when we first met him. I have four wonderful children and 13 grandchildren.
