MADAWASKA – Jeannette (Deschaine) Bourgoin, 79, a Madawaska resident for 53 years, passed away with family by her side Wednesday, March 30, 2011, at a Bangor hospital after a lengthy illness. “Nannette,” as she was known to many who knew her, was born March 23, 1932, in Fort Kent, to Emile H. and Edwina (Leblanc) Deschaine.
Jeannette left her home in Fort Kent at the young age of 13 to work in Fort Fairfield as a housekeeper and nanny. She married her husband, Richard of St. Agatha and Houlton, Dec. 26, 1950, and resided in Frenchville where they had the first three of their eight sons. She and Richard moved to Madawaska in 1958 and made their home on Riverview Street where they had their remaining five sons and one daughter. Her neighbors became very special people in her life. Jeannette and her husband worked extremely hard and made many sacrifices to ensure that they could provide their children with a healthy and loving home. Jeannette loved being with her parents, her siblings and her siblings’ children just as much as she did her own children. “Life is all about family,” she said in her final days before her passing. She loved to travel, shop, “dress for the occasion,” watch old movies, read, sing and hum tunes which she herself created that would make any music composer envious. We mustn’t forget, she was a great collector too. History was a favorite of hers. She especially enjoyed viewing period and plantation homes. For decades she played cards with many special friends who became known to her children as “The Scat Club.” Jeannette was a member of St. David Catholic Church, Daughters of Isabella and Daughters of St. Anne. In addition to her husband, Jeannette is survived by all of her nine children, Ronald “Jeff” and his wife, Madeline “Mado,” Reginald “Rick” and his wife, Gail, Michael “Mike” and his wife, Pat, and Peter, all of Madawaska, David and his wife, Helen “Nell,” of Lebanon, Conn., Larry and his wife, Cecile, of Hampden, John and his partner, Mark, of Portland, Karen Chessie and her husband, Fearman “Tom,” of Sarasota, Fla., and Shawn and his wife, Mona, of Frenchville; grandchildren, Joshua, Samantha, Shelly, Jessica, Randy, Ryan, Erika, Christine, Rachelle, Isaac, Abby, Todd and Claudia; great-grandchildren, William, Lila, Alex, Ethan, Colby, Victoria, Kole, Abigail, Lillian and Laken; six siblings, Cecile Paradis and her husband, Royden, of Fort Kent, Reno and his wife, Anabel “Ann,” of Belgrade, Leonette Gendreau of Madawaska, Nelson and his wife, Kathy, of South Yarmouth, Mass., Florence “Marlene” Pelletier and husband, Clarence, of St. David, and Doris Staples of St. Agatha; sisters-in-law, Carol Deschaine of New Cumberland, Pa., and Cecile Ingraham of Houlton; brother-in-law, Donald Libby of Fort Fairfield; godchildren, Carol (Ingraham) Gray of Bucksport and Paula (Gendreau) Techiera of Seabrook, N.H.; many nieces and nephews too numerous to mention individually; and special friends, Yvonne Ladden Bourgoin, Romeo, Rita “my best friend” and David Bouchard of Frenchville. Jeannette was predeceased by her mother, Edwina; father, Emile H.; brother, Reginald; sister, Bernadette Libby; mother-in-law, Celina (Albert) Bourgoin; father-in-law, Walter Bourgoin; brothers-in-law, Roland Gendreau, Paul Ingraham and Russell Staples; grandson, Robert Cyr; and godchild, JoAnne (Libby) McGraw. The family thanks the supportive staff at Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor; Forest Hill Nursing Facility and Northern Maine Medical Center, both in Fort Kent, for their assistance in making our mother’s final days as comfortable as possible. Special heartfelt thanks and gratitude also go out to Shawn and Mona who opened up their home so Mom could continuously be with family to the very end. On the matter, Mom said, “I was so well treated, I have nothing bad to say.”
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 5, at St. David Church. Family and friends may call 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 4, and 9 a.m. until time of service Tuesday at Lajoie Funeral Home. Interment will be later in the spring at St. David Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a donation in Jeannette’s memory to American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023. For online condolences, please visit
www.lajoiefuneralhome.com.