We are saddened to report the passing of Viscountess Ivone la Doucette de Rouen on the 17th of December.

Her Excellency joined the Society in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael in the early 1980s. Her costuming abilities were recognized immediately, and she received her Award of Arms in 1985 for her sewing skill. She would go on to create many amazing gowns, such as the very complex Elizabethan—her preferred period and style. Only a few years later, she received a Court Barony from the East Kingdom.

After a whirlwind courtship, she and Atai Sir Yoshina were married in 1985. Sir Yoshina was serving in the Air Force at the time, so she ended up traveling the world with him to places as diverse as North Dakota and Germany. While in the Middle Kingdom, she received its mid-level arts award, the Willow, again for her amazing skill as a seamstress. She and Yoshina also began building their household, House Atai, with many young military men joining as Yoshina’s squires. Ivone served as a surrogate mother for them all.

During their time in Europe, Sir Yoshina won the coronet of the then-Principality of Drachenwald, and together he and Ivone reigned over that fabled land from June of 1989 to January of 1990 as its 19th Prince and Princess.

Viscountess Ivone was recognized again for her skills as a seamstress by Drachenwald with their Order of the Panache in 1990, and the Orden des Lindquistringes for service in 1992, as well as by the East Kingdom with the order of the Silver Crescent for service at Pennsic 21 and a Laurel at Pennsic 22.

Viscount Yoshina and Viscountess Ivone returned to the U.S. in the early 90s, eventually settling in the Shire of Coppertree, where they have lived ever since. They adopted a son, Aaron, in the mid-1990s. Aaron was a youth fighter who eventually authorized to fight as an adult alongside his father. He is currently a college student studying to become a pharmacist.

Though health issues kept her from participating in the Society much over her last few years, Viscountess Ivone still continued her love of sewing, dogs, and horses.

Sir Anton von Hagenstein, formerly of Drachenwald and now of Calontir, lamented, “We have lost a fantastic Lady. I’ve known these fine people since the mid-1980s and both of them have played a very large part of my life. Ivone hand-made my vigil clothing (which still hangs next to my court garb), and [added] embroidery with important phrases of my native language. She always had a smile and open arms to everyone, and if she knew you had a problem large or small, she was helping you get through it. Together they laid the Accolade of Knighthood upon my shoulder, and made that moment … That moment that changed my life, in so many ways.”

Mistress Geirny Thorgrimsdottir of the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael said: “Ivone was my Laurel. She was one of my most important mentors. But most of all she was my friend. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend as loyal, witty, and impassioned about the things she loved as Ivone was.”

Countess Genevieve Chastellain D’Anjou of the Barony of Rising Waters in Ealdormere wrote: “Yesterday I lost one of my dearest and longest friends – Mary Ann Edgar [Viscountess Ivone]. We met when I was only 20. While I know her suffering from her longtime illness with COPD is over and she is at peace, I cannot stop the tears. Tears for her devoted husband she leaves behind. Tears for her beloved son (my godson) who made her so proud. Tears for her family and loved ones who grieve with me. Tears for myself for I will miss her sorely. Mary Ann taught me so much. Some were hard lessons and we sometimes butted heads, but I always knew that she loved me. I loved her for her unique fierceness and passion for her arts and her hobbies. In the SCA she was my Laurel, my mentor, my inspiration, my pain-in-the-neck, and my confidante. My heart is aching for my own loss. And I hope that she knew how much I loved her.”

Lord Deerwulf the Druid, formerly of the Shire of Aachental (now defunct, once located at SUNY Geneseo near Thescorre) and currently of Ansteorra, said: “At Pennsic one year, House Atai had encamped at Willow Point. The solar showers were pretty new, and there was only a little warm water in the mornings. The menfolk took to Morning Water Purification Ritual: basically an early version of the Ice Challenge. We would gather around a collected water container, and take turns immersing our arms, heads, whatever, into the icy cold water. On the morning in question, we were engaged in our ritual when a rather un-coffeed Ivone came out of her tent, saw us gathered around splashing the water. She harrumphed … and returned to the tent, muttering how silly Japanese were.”

The Æthelmearc Gazette extends its condolences to all of Viscountess Ivone’s family and friends.