Friends and family of a Pontiac, Que., woman who died during the first days of this spring's flooding packed a church in Gatineau Saturday to remember a "selfless" woman who championed the underdogs.

Louise Lortie Séguin, 72, died when she drove into a washed-out road early in the morning on April 20.

She had been visiting a friend in nearby Shawville, Que., and was heading home.

Lortie Séguin was remembered Saturday for her big heart, her tenacity and her willingness to help anyone and everyone — including many people who sought help at Maison Luskville, an alcohol and drug recovery centre she started 25 years ago.

"[Her help] saved my life," said Randy Laviolette, who was at one of his lowest points when he met Lortie Séguin there six years ago.

Randy Laviolette met Louise Lortie Séguin and her husband in 2013, when he first sought help at the Maison Luskville alcohol and drug recovery centre. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

'She was amazing'

Laviolette recalled being nervous when he met her, but that was quickly replaced by a sense of relief.

"I remember breaking down because I knew that the walls didn't need to be up anymore," he said.

He soon began calling her "mama" and his "street mom."

"She had a lot of children," Laviolette said, referring to both her biological children and the more than 1,200 adults she and her husband helped battle their addictions.

"She was an anchor. She was your SOS, your buoy to hang on to. She wouldn't pick you up out of the water, she'd teach you how to float and how to swim when you forgot your way and you were drowning. She was amazing."

Packed church

Hundreds of people filled Liberty Ministries in Gatineau's Aylmer neighbourhood Saturday. The room was so full that several people had to stand outside during the service.

"It's unbelievable. I know she would be extremely touched by this. She loved being surrounded by people, by love, by joy, by good times," said Tina Roy, Lortie Séguin's youngest daughter.

Lortie Séguin had been driving alone on rue de Clarendon at chemin Bronson Bryant. The road had washed out, and Roy said there was a couple waiting at the scene of the washout for emergency services said.

Lortie Séguin wasn't able to stop in time, however, and her car went into the water.

Roy said the investigation into her mother's death is still being completed.

This painting was created from a photo of a homeless man who had wrapped a blanket around his dog. Lortie Séguin was so moved by the original photo that she tracked down the photographer to find the man — and then started Maison Luskville alcohol and drug recovery centre. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

Generous and charitable

Those in attendance Saturday described how Lortie Séguin didn't just help those in need but actively tried to understand what they were going through, even living on the streets herself for a couple of weeks.

She started Maison Luskville after being moved by a photo she saw in a newspaper of a homeless man who'd wrapped his dog in a blanket to keep him warm.

After Lortie Séguin tracked the man down, Roy said her mother eventually convinced him to play a game of cards, with a very specific wager: if he lost, he had to accept her help.

"I believe that is the first time she's ever cheated at cards," Roy said.

That was the type of woman she was, said Lortie Séguin's other daughter, Ann Séguin-Huska.

"If all she had was a dime left in her pocket, she would give it to someone else," Séguin-Huska said.

"Whatever she had, she gave to someone else."