Fleur Mainville, Pictou County fiddler, dead at 37
'It's a devastation,' says John Spyder MacDonald
Fleur Mainville, the celebrated fiddler from Pictou County, died Wednesday.
She leaves behind her husband, Andrew Heighton, and their two children. Pictou residents also knew her as an active volunteer and fundraiser.
Friend and fellow musician John Spyder MacDonald played with her many times.
"She had a beautiful touch on the fiddle and she was also a fabulous singer," he told the CBC's Information Morning on Thursday.
"She didn't record a lot of her singing because she didn't start singing until after she met her husband. She said he brought the singing out in her."
MacDonald met Mainville when she was 14, when her music teacher contacted him about getting her some playing time. He brought her up to Cape Breton for a St. Andrew's Day event.
"She sang that with this pure, sweet voice. I knew she was a singer then," he said.
Mainville played with David Gunning and many other musicians.
"She had a unique tone, a unique sound. If I head Fleur on a recording I knew it was Fleur," said Gunning. "So many people were touched by Fleur. She was part of the fabric, more like the tartan of Pictou County, really."
"She was one of those that stood out from the rest and you knew, 'This girl's got it.' And she was so humble and a very giving person," MacDonald said. "She probably couldn't count the number of benefits she played at over the years."
'They are all unique, just like her'
Mainville also taught music to children and gave young dancers a stage to perform on.
"It was always about somebody else. It was never about her. That's one of the great things about her and one of the things we're going to miss," said MacDonald.
Mainville and her husband adopted a boy, 10, and a girl, five, in 2014.
"That makes it even harder. It's a devastation, really," MacDonald said. "As her name says, she was our flower. She will be sadly missed by everybody."
Mainville was 37, and died after a long struggle with cancer.
Jennifer Murphy, a friend of Mainville's who operates Alley Cats Salon & Studio, is selling "Fleur's Flowers" to raise money for other people dealing with cancer. The flowers are made from recycled paper and buttons and are designed to wear on lapels or in hair.
"They are all unique — just like her," Murphy said.
Murphy said the flowers sell for $3 — $2 of that goes to help a Pictou County family fighting cancer and the other $1 goes to make more flowers.
There will be a reception to honour Mainville at the deCoste Centre in Pictou on Sunday. Her funeral is Tuesday.