Jeanne Marie St-Onge.Courtesy of family
Jeanne Marie St-Onge: Emperor’s dentist. Wife. Mother. Centenarian. Born Oct. 1, 1919, in Leuven, Belgium; died Nov. 9, 2021, in Ottawa, from medical assistance in dying; aged 102.
Jeanne Behaegel’s father, Pierre, was a wood sculptor in Flanders, Belgium. There was little money, but her mother, Euphrasie, encouraged her youngest daughter to pursue her education and gain a secure future. Jeanne began pre-med studies at the University of Ghent and won a scholarship to study in occupied Paris. In 1941, she received her degree in Dental Surgery – one of the few women in her class.
By 1944, she was a practising dentist in Versailles. Although she focused on her work, she was inevitably drawn into the war around her. She courageously assisted her brother, who hid Jewish children from the Nazis, by accompanying the children from Belgium to Paris by train. She stared down Nazi officer questioning at the border with her innate flair and command of German. As the Allied bombing intensified, Jeanne determined she’d rather die with her family back in Belgium, and so she returned to her loved ones.
When the war ended, she resumed practising dentistry in Ghent and Brussels. Jeanne was 30 when she was invited to set up a dentistry practice in Ethiopia as part of Belgium’s contribution to postwar reconstruction. Getting to Ethiopia involved a crash-landing in the Somali desert and waiting for rescue by plane the following day. As Jeanne told it, it was just another moment to manage through with dignity intact. Three years later, she was invited to establish a dentistry clinic at Haile Selassie Imperial Hospital, where clients included the emperor himself, members of his family, local chieftains and the embassy crowd.
In Ethiopia, she also met Denis St-Onge, a Franco-Manitoban from Ste. Agathe, Man., who had left home to find the world. He had a toothache, but the emperor’s dentist didn’t charge him for the visit. Five months later, they were married, beginning 67 loving years together. Shortly thereafter, Jeanne learned she was pregnant (despite having been told she couldn’t have children).
This is when Jeanne’s life took a radical turn. She insisted they leave Ethiopia so Denis – who had graduated from college with a bachelor of arts – could pursue higher education, just as her own mother had advised her years earlier. Moving back to Brussels, where their son was born, and then Montreal, where their daughter was born, she supported Denis as a stay-at-home mother.
As Denis pursued his doctorate, they moved to rural Ottawa and a world away from the life she was used to. Denis became a geologist and was away most summers while she raised their two children. Throughout the years of child-rearing, moving and an initially modest income, Jeanne maintained every inch of her grace and determination. Out of necessity, she learned English – her fifth language, calmly dealt with school officials and supervised her children’s homework, and marched them to their summer swimming lessons in the freezing Ottawa River. She never saw a need to learn to drive, and as an occasional treat would accompany her children by bus to a Sunday movie matinee of their choice, hotdogs and all.
Jeanne St-Onge with Ethiopian monks of the Coptic Orthodox Church, near Addis Ababa in 1950.Courtesy of family
The St-Onge home became the place where friends and family would meet. Jeanne presided over exquisite meals, including traditional Belgian favourites such as moules et frites and the recreation of the seven courses of Babette’s feast.
Jeanne was in the front row when Denis was awarded the Order of Canada. When grandchildren came along, she became a beloved grand-maman and role model. They knew she loved them deeply, followed their achievements closely and was proud of them, but they also clearly understood – from her gentle but firm words and those notable looks – what behaviours were expected. Importantly, she shared her life story, which allowed them to understand that their lives were their own to shape.
Jeanne died at home in Ottawa, with her loved ones around her, at the age of 102. She led a long and remarkable life with courage, determination and grace.
Janet King is Jeanne’s daughter-in-law.
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