Yolande LeTourneau Obituary (1919 - 2015)

PORTLAND - Yolande B. Michaud LeTourneau, 95, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, formerly of Westbrook died on February 2, 2015 at The Cedars in Portland. Born in Van Buren, ME on June 29, 1919 to Felix and Philomene Michaud, she was the fifth child of ten children. Yolande attended local schools and later moved to Portland in the mid 1930s where her faith continued to be nourished and strengthened by her participation in the Young Womens Catholic League moderated by Rev. Armand Cyr. She moved to Westbrook when she married the love of her life, John P. LeTourneau, in April of 1941. Yolande often spoke with fondness of her early childhood experiences growing up in rural, northern Aroostook County; attending classes in a one room schoolhouse with her mother as the teacher, traveling to the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in a horse and sleigh, skating on the St. John River, and sharing the adventures of her involvement in the annual potato harvest. Yolande was a homemaker and continued to be engaged in her hobbies of crocheting, knitting, sewing, and tending to her prize high-bush blueberries until the age of ninety. As a long-time member of St. Marys Parish, she contributed her talents by baking cakes, cookies, and pies for the many parish fundraisers. Yolande spent the last years of her life at the Betsy Ross Complex in South Portland before moving to Cedars. She was predeceased by her husband; her parents; four sisters, Madeleine, Claire, Jacqueline, Edna; and two brothers, Alphee and Bernard. She is survived by her son, Richard P. LeTourneau and his wife Margaret of South Portland/Clearwater, FL; a daughter, Sister Carol LeTourneau RSM, of Indian Township; two granddaughters, Sara LeTourneau Conley of South Portland, and Karen Sabataso and her husband Joseph of Rutland, VT; two sisters, Mrs. Antoinette Marquis and Mrs. Lorraine Pelletier of Madawaska; one brother Arthur Michaud and his wife Jeanne of Cape Coral, FL; five great grandchildren, Matthew, Andrew, and Meghan Conley; Emilia and William Sabataso; numerous nieces and nephews, and a cherished, faithful friend, Helen Godin and her husband Joseph, of Westbrook. The family wishes to extend special thanks to the staff of Cedars for the wonderful care she received during her residency. Visiting Hours will be held on Monday, Feb. 16 from 4-7 p.m. at the Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A Mass of Christian will be celebrated on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua (St. Hyacinth Church), 268 Brown St., Westbrook. Rev. Reginald Brissette officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, South Portland. To share an online condolence or memory, please visit www.ctcrawford.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, PO Box 1807, Auburn, ME 04211.