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Obituary for Anita B. Therrien
St. Albans - Anita B. Therrien, 81, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, October 4, 2010, at the St. Albans HealthCare Center. Anita was born in Highgate, VT on November 25, 1928, the daughter of the late Victor and Yvonne (Gagne) Bilodeau. On February 17, 1953 she married Paul E. Therrien, who pre-deceased her on February 26, 2009, after 56 years of marriage. Anita graduated from Highgate High School. While in high school, Anita took-on an unusual task for a woman in her day and drove a school bus. During the summer before graduation, she worked as a Candy Striper at Fanny Allen Hospital. After graduation and while employed at Chez Paul's Restaurant on Lake St. in St. Albans, she met her future husband Paul. After Chez Paul's, she worked at Guay's Bakery and later at the Bristol Manufacturing Company, as a seamstress. She then worked at Fonda Container and remained there for 14 years, after which she and Paul ran their own grocery store, Therrien's Market, on Barlow St. for the next 10 years. Along with the grocery store, Paul and Anita owned apartment houses throughout Franklin County and Therrien's Mobile Home Park in Highgate, VT. Anita was an accomplished seamstress who made her daughter's wedding dress, among other formal and informal garments throughout her life. She loved crafts of any kind and was a leader in her Florida craft groups while she and her husband spent winters there for over 20 years. Anita also had an absolute love of portrait photography and always carried a camera with her, ready to snap a picture of family or friends at any given moment. One very strong quality which Anita possessed was her intuition, which she followed closely, right to her dying days. She had a special bond with her beloved granddaughter, Jen, to whom she muttered her last words, "I'm going to sleep now". She will be greatly missed by her family and anyone who was touched by her persistent jolly nature. Anita was a former member and director of the Hi-Swans Senior Center in Swanton and was a former member of the Franklin County Senior Center. Anita is survived by her two daughters, Susan Dunbar of St. Albans, and Denise Beers of Williston, her granddaughter, Jenniffer "Jen" Dunbar of St. Albans and her long term boyfriend, Ryan Deuso, her grandson Jason Dunbar of St. Albans and her great grandchildren, Arianna and Victoria Dunbar. Her sister, Doris Nadeau, her brothers Lionel "Lee" Bilodeau, Germain "Jimmy" Bilodeau and his wife, Gisele, her sisters, Theresa Blouin, Pauline Greenia, Louise Smith and her husband, Alton, her brother Reginald Bilodeau and his wife, Sue, and her sister, Alise Estell and her husband, Roger. Her sisters-in-law, Diane Rideout, Claire Therrien and Jeannine Ostiguy, and her brother-in-law, Rosaire Gagne and several nieces and nephews. Anita was pre-deceased by her husband, Paul, her parents, Victor and Yvonne (Gagne) Bilodeau, her sisters, Rachel Gagne and Gisele Smith, her brothers; John, Donald, Norman and Andre Bilodeau, her son-in-law, Mark Beers, her sisters-in-law, Rita Rexford, Maria Bilodeau, and Donna Anderson, and her brothers-in-law, John Nadeau, Verle Greenia, Octave Blouin and Gerald Ostiguy. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 12 Noon at the Church of the Rock on Route 104. The Reverend Roland Ludlam will officiate. Anita's family will receive friends on Saturday at the church from 11:00 AM until the time of the service. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider the St. Albans Healthcare & Rehab Center, 596 Sheldon Road, St. Albans, VT 05478. Assisting the Therrien family is the Heald Funeral Home, where messages of condolence are welcome at www.healdfuneralhome.com.
