MADAWASKA – Gilberte Florence (Doucette) Dufour, 82, left us Jan. 27, 2010, from hospice care at High View Manor, Madawaska. She was born March 12, 1927, in Grand Isle, the daughter of Annie (Cyr) and Leonard Doucette. Gilberte was a longtime and active member of Daughters of Isabella, St. Thomas Circle No. 546 and American Legion Auxiliary, Post 147. To help with family finances and to satisfy her social needs, she worked part time as a waitress at Roland’s Rendez-Vous and as a laborer at Vollman’s/Jade East. She was well known and respected in her community as a charitable woman who donated her time and talents to help those less fortunate than she. Gilberte’s sense of humor was skillfully woven into her talents as a singer, musician and raconteur; her laugh was infectious. She was a skilled bowler, participating in a women’s bowling league. Her artistic craftsmanship was evidenced in her work with ceramics, plastic canvas needlework, knitting, sewing and crocheting. Gilberte loved children. She donated countless artistic creations annually to classrooms of children at the elementary school during the holiday season. She was a childcare provider for a few working moms. She had an unshakable faith in God and was an active member of her church. Gilberte had compassion for the elderly and the sick. She and her husband, Louis, spent innumerable afternoons musically entertaining the elderly and the physically disabled at local residential health care facilities. Never having owned a car, they could be seen walking everywhere, stopping along the way to visit friends and those who were homebound. Gilberte is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, Louis of Madawaska; daughters, Cecile of Madawaska, Pauline and Charlotte of Edmundston, New Brunswick; sons, Charles of Belfast and Jean-Paul of Toronto; grandson, Mark of Montreal; granddaughters, Cindy of Quebec City, Denyse and Karen of Edmundston, New Brunswick, and Nikkol of Toronto; great-grandson, Vincent of Edmundston, New Brunswick; sisters, Jeanette of Rumford, Sister Georgeanne of Biddeford, Lillian of Hartford, Conn., Alphena and Geraldine of Hamden, Conn.; brother, Roger and his wife, Lucille, of Glastonbury, Conn.; countless nieces, nephews and in-laws. Gilberte was predeceased by her parents; two stillborn children, Joseph I and Joseph II; sisters, Christine and Lena; and brothers, Alphie and Edmond. A funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Madawaska. Family and friends may call 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, and noon until the time of service Saturday at Daigle Funeral Home. Interment will be held later in the spring at the parish cemetery.
GILBERTE FLORENCE (DOUCETTE) DUFOUR
