Obituary of Wilma Ruth Girard

GOUVERNEUR- Wilma Ruth (Weldon) Girard, age 91, of Gouverneur, NY passed away on Monday, June 20, 2022 at Gouverneur Hospital. There will be calling hours for Wilma on Monday, June 27, 2022 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at French Funeral Home, Gouverneur. Her funeral Mass will be on Tuesday, June 28th at 11:00 a.m. at St. James Church in Gouverneur with Fr. Jay Seymour officiating. Burial will follow at New St. James Cemetery. Condolences and photos may be shared online at www.frenchfuneralhomes.com. Wilma was born on March 23, 1931 on the Heart School Road in Theresa, near a cheese factory. She is the daughter of the late Carl F. and Ruth (Van Tassel) Weldon. She graduated from Antwerp High School in 1948. Wilma married Carl J. "CJ" Girard at the St. James Catholic Church on May 2, 1951 with Father Divinity officiating. Carl passed away on February 9, 2006. Wilma worked at Wilson's Restaurant from 1948-1949, W.T. Grant Co. from 1949-1950 and then the New York Telephone Co. from 1950-1956, before staying home to raise her eight children. She was a member of the St. James Church all of her life, with memorials to St. James Church and School. She enjoyed spending time with her family and spending summers on Trout Lake. She also enjoyed knitting and gardening. Surviving are five daughters and two sons, Dr. Nancy Girard Markert and Robert Markert, Jeanice and Theodore "Ted" Totten, Michelle and Albert Desiderio, Joseph "Randy" and Linda Girard, Jayne Carbone, James and Dianne Girard and Jacqueline and Max A. Tessmer II; two brothers, Douglas and Alice Weldon and Roger and Sharon Weldon; a sister Joyce Walton; twenty-five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, several nieces and nephew and her loving "Yorkie" companion, Suzy Q. Wilma is predeceased by her husband, a son, Carl Frederick Girard; and two brothers, Jimmy Weldon and Ralph Weldon and his wife, Donna. Donations may be made in Wilma's memory to Ryan's Wish Foundation, P.O. Box 326, Gouverneur, NY 13642; Gouverneur Breast Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 64, Gouverneur, NY 13642; or to Story Tellers Express Inc., 710 Rensselaer Ave., Ogdensburg, NY 13669 or PayPal https//paypal.me/StoryTellersExpress.