Belanger, Omerine C., 83, Camden, September 11, 2010. Calling hours will be 3-5 p.m., September 16, at the Long Funeral Home, Camden. The funeral mass will be held 12 noon, September 17, at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church in Camden.
CAMDEN – Omerine Chaloult Belanger, long-time resident of both Maine and Arizona, died suddenly on September 11. She’d just celebrated her 83rd birthday, and recently celebrated her 64th wedding anniversary with her husband, Roy J. Belanger.
Born and raised on the Van Buren Road in Caribou, Maine, Omerine’s extraordinary life began with her adoring parents, Sophie and Charles Chaloult, bestowing upon her that unique name. Always a strong person, she started working at age 14 in a starch factory to support the war effort. She traveled to Lewiston, Maine to study at beautician school, then operated her own beauty shop. She and Roy met through his sister, and although parents tried to interfere, their love won out and they were married on a Tuesday morning in July. Beginning a life together with little more than their love and a radio purchased on their honeymoon, through extraordinary hard work and intelligence they bore and raised five daughters, ran a potato farm, operated a Massey Ferguson franchise (that would become Belanger’s Farm Machinery in Caribou), and traveled extensively on business trips. The couple designed and built four homes, with Omerine completing much of the interior work herself. The business thrived, so the couple retired and moved to Arizona, where they could finally relax and enjoy golfing, more traveling, eventually covering 48 states, and loved simply being together every moment of every day. In 2005, the couple moved back to Maine, settling on the coast in Camden. A devout Catholic, Omerine was a parishioner at Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary churches in Caribou, and St. Maria Goretti in Scottsdale, and served as a Lady of St. Anne and Daughter of Isabella. She was known for her elegance, charm, beauty, surprising wit and uncommon thoughtfulness, and for being half of one of the sweetest and most enduring love stories known.
Omerine is survived by her darling husband, Roy; her daughters, Lela Guerrette Kalkbrenner, Pamela Belanger Brown, Judy Belanger, Debra Rondeau, Trina Belanger; seven grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren; and her cherished Chaloult nephew and nieces.
Calling hours will be 3-5 p.m., Thursday, September 16, 2010, at the Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain Street, Camden. The funeral mass will be held 12 noon, Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church in Camden with the Rev. Mark Reinhardt officiating. Burial will follow in the Mountain View Cemetery in Camden. A reception will be held in Cote Hall at the church following the burial.
