CARIBOU — Arlene Boutot Doody died January 12, 2017, surrounded by her loving family at her home in Caribou. The daughter of Eupheme (Phoebe) Desrosiers and Zephrin Boutot she was born at her family home on Main Street in Stockholm on September 21, 1932. She was the fifth child of seven children. On April 29, 1950 she married Lee A. Doody, Jr. and together they raised eight children.
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| Arlene Boutot Doody |
Mom spent her life focused on her job as a mother, a role not without its challenges, whose influence is reflected in the skills she passed on to her children. She valued a neat and comfortable home, turning less into more, and spreading energy and love along the way. There are many, many memories to share. Most important to “Us Kids”, we remember with appreciation and admiration how every day during potato harvest we woke up to clean picking clothes (including gloves) a hearty breakfast, a well packed lunch with special treats, and a delicious supper. She helped us track our tickets and how many barrels of potatoes we picked each day and helped us manage our money in envelopes she organized in her pocketbook. The envelopes were always ready for us along with a list at the end of the harvest season when we shopped for our necessities, perhaps new boots or a new coat for winter. Mom’s greatest joy throughout her life, including her last weekend alive was the gathering of family and friends. She loved any excuse to get together over food and music, celebrate a holiday or special event, or play a game of cards. She was well known for her dancing skills and especially enjoyed “cutting the rug” with her brothers, Coon and Al. She enjoyed with friends and family many evenings around a campfire. During the second half of her life-long relationship with Dad their pleasure of the outdoors was expanded to include numerous RV, snowmobile, and ATV adventures. Mama also loved going for a ride to scout out animals and to enjoy changes in the seasons. We marveled at how well she knew the back roads around central Aroostook like she knew her neighborhood. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday breakfast at Reno’s with her breakfast buddies, Patsy, Mary, and Norma became the highlight of each week after Daddy died in 2009.
Mom and Dad worked tirelessly as partners using everything they had to provide maximum support to their children. Mom spent better than sixty years supporting Dad and managing their home as he worked several jobs at a time in the early years of their marriage. She continued that support as he rose to the rank of Colonel in the Guard and Reserves, as he started his land surveying business, and later, several years after they both retired, he became ill. When her youngest child was in kindergarten, Mom began using her excellent skills learned while feeding a large family, when she began work as a school cook at Hilltop Elementary in Caribou. Other than occasional babysitting this was the only paying job she had during her life as a mother and wife. She worked at Hilltop for twenty-nine years and often said it was the best thing she ever did for herself. During her retirement she enjoyed volunteer work at Red Cross drives, at Cary Medical Center and at the Caribou Rehab/Nursing and the Maine Veterans Home. She really enjoyed being with people. Mama allowed the independent spirit that she encouraged in her children to flourish for herself as she faced life on her own after Daddy died. She lived until her death in the only home her family knew. During her illness she expressed gratitude for the help and support of Dr. Carl Flynn and his staff.
She will be missed by many people especially her children. She is survived by; two sons: Steven and Carole of Caribou, Jeffrey and Carolyn Schuster of Yarmouth; five daughters: Deborah and Donald Sirois of Caribou, Susan and Robert Stedt of New Sweden, Roxanne and George Dolan of East Greenwich, RI, Shellie and Danny Corriveau of Caribou, Kris Doody and David Winslow of Caribou and Augusta. twelve grandchildren: Kevin, Jason, Kelly, Matthew, Lea, Laura, Allison, Aaron, Chandler, Porter, Ian, and Demarre; great grandchildren: Tanner, Logan, Taiva, Amos, Winslow, and Amelia; a brother and his family, Albert and Teresa Boutot; five sisters-in-law and their families: Maria Doody of Newport, Evelyn Fournier, Mable and Floyd Quist, Rita Bernaiche all of Caribou and Yvette Bernaiche of Fort Fairfield. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families. Mom and Dad’s oldest son, Wilbur, died in 1990, her mother in 1997, and her father when she was 16 years old. Mama was predeceased by three brothers and two sisters: Adrian Bernaiche, Robert Bernaiche, Ramone Boutot, Lomen Boutot, and Ernestine Pelletier.
Friends, family and neighbors are invited to gather with the family for fellowship on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at the Chan Center Cary Medical Center from 9:00-11:00 am. A celebration of Mom’s life will be held on May 27 at the Mockler Funeral Home in Caribou followed by a private family burial. The date and time will be published in the Bangor Daily and the Aroostook Republican in the spring. Mom requested that friends and family who wish to remember her may contribute in her memory to the Lyndon Cemetery Fund, 12 Thomas Ave. Caribou, ME. or the Jefferson Cary Foundation in support of the Cancer Center.
