'A loving woman, loved by all': Family mourns first victim of COVID-19 in Quebec

Mariette Tremblay died of COVID-19 this week at age 82. (Photo: Facebook)

MONTREAL - The family of Mariette Tremblay, 82, the first Quebecer to have died after contracting COVID-19, remembered her Thursday as a "loving woman, loved by all."

Tremblay, who lived in Lavaltrie in the Lanaudiere region, was a mother of four, a grandmother of nine and a great grandmother of nine, her family said in a Facebook post. (See the entire post below).

"She was known and appreciated within our small community, in our beautiful village of Lavaltrie," the family wrote, noting that Tremblay had been in poor health before being infected with the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

"On a spring day, this virus attacked her, easy prey under the circumstances," the family said.

The pain of losing a loved one, and being unable to be with her during her last days because of social isolation, spurred the family to go public with Tremblay's story.

"This is why today (we are) imploring Quebeckers, and the whole world, to follow the recommendations made by the authorities, to show good citizenship, social responsibility and stay at home," the family wrote.

"We didn't have a chance to save Grandma. But you have the chance to make a difference now that we know the damage caused by this pandemic. Everything must be done to prevent human tragedies like the one we are experiencing from continuing to multiply."