Simone Dufour Gagnon Obituary (1918 - 2014)

MADAWASKA/SKOWHEGAN – Simone Dufour Gagnon, beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother died at Cedar Ridge on January 8, 2014. She was born on May 7, 1918, in St. David. She was the daughter of the late Xavier and Annie (Picard) Dufour. She was a graduate of Madawaska High School, and attended Fort Kent Normal School (now the University of Maine at Fort Kent) from 1934 to 1936 and received her Bachelor’s Degree from Presque Isle State College (now the University of Maine at Presque Isle) in 1968. For several years Simone was a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madawaska where she was a 60-year member of The Daughters of Isabella. She served as a Eucharistic Minister, was a Cell member, and helped the Social, Justice & Peace Commission. She also served as secretary and treasurer for the Lioness Club. She was a member of the American Legion Post 147 Auxiliary. Simone was a member of the Madawaska Teachers Association, Maine Education Association, National Education Association, and the Maine Retired Teachers Association. During World War II, she worked at Pratt and Whitney in East Hartford, Connecticut. With her husband, she worked their retail grocery business in Fort Fairfield. She dedicated 26 years of her life to teaching in elementary schools in St. David, Fort Fairfield and Madawaska. Simone retired from teaching in 1982. She moved to Park Residence in Waterville in October of 2003 where she stayed until December of 2006. Then, she moved in with her daughter, Judy, in Solon, Maine. In December of 2009, she became a resident of Cedar Ridge Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Skowhegan. Simone was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Charles, who died in 2002; her sisters, Maria Louise Gagnon, Theresa Albert, and Anne Marie Malloy; and her brothers Claude and Jean Paul Dufour. She is survived by four children: Edward and his wife Janet of Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Carol and her husband Zohn Hausmann of Harpswell, Maine, and Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Judith and her husband David Belanger of Solon; and Linda and her husband Don Bradley of Sweden, Maine; her sisters, Cecil Pozzuto, Bernadette Heins and Rita Collins; her grandchildren, Leigh Rae Estrada and her husband David of Oregon; Skip Gagnon and his wife Heather of Arizona; Meagen Martin and his fiancée Cheryl of Nevada; Tobin Belanger and his wife Susan of Moscow, Maine; and Tori MacDonald and her husband Shawn of Lewiston, Maine; and two great grandsons, Zach Martin and Xavier Belanger and two great granddaughters, Avery Belanger and Olive MacDonald. The family would like to thank Beacon Hospice, especially Cindy and Lynn, and The Cedar Ridge staff for their comfort during mom’s passing. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 2nd at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madawaska. Arrangements are under the care of Smart & Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Thomas Memorial Fund, Madawaska, ME 04756 or to a charity of your choice.