Laconia----- Marcella Lorette Willett, age 93, passed away on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at the St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. On February 3, 1922 in Manchester, NH, she was born into a vibrant, sprawling and successful French Canadian family. The late Leon and Louise (Auger) Goulet raised five daughters and a son, most of whom had many children of their own.
In a time when women weren’t encouraged to pursue an education, Marcella graduated in the class of 1939 from Manchester West High School and later attended the Hesser School of Business. She fostered a love of learning, literature, and independence, and during the war years she worked as a stenographer.
Marcella married her late husband Ramsay Willett in 1943. Having known each other in high school, they formally met when Marcella’s older sister turned down Ramsay for a date. They honeymooned in Weirs Beach and were happily married for 61 years before Ramsay passed. In 1951 they moved from Manchester to Laconia where they raised five boys and became fixtures in the community.
Marcella had many passions. She could sew up a storm, and was a gifted seamstress. She practically lived in the kitchen, always daring to try new recipes, honing signature dishes to perfection over years of trial and error. She volunteered at the Holy Trinity School in Laconia for decades, working in the library and climbing the spiral steps to play the organ for graduation, even in her 90s. But it was at the piano where she truly shone. She loved music, both listening and playing, and her house was always alive with song. Even at an advanced age in the nursing home she could summon a youthful vigor as she played and sang piano with her great grandchildren.
To simply say that Marcella was a communicant of St. Andre Bessettte St. Joseph Church, and was a member of the Ladies Guild at the church is to understate how much the church meant to her, and how much she meant to the church. There wasn’t a family problem she couldn’t solve with the Rosary, and there wasn’t a rummage sale or luncheon where she didn’t help out.
Members of the family include her five sons: Randy and his wife Elaine of Meredith, Lee and his wife Joanne of Gilford, Daniel and his partner Gayle of League City, TX, James and his wife Julie of Pepperel, MA and Thomas and his wife Jamie of Dover; two sisters: Lucille Leinsing and Janet Lydon, both of Manchester; seven grandchildren: Bethany, Nicole, David, Mark, Alec, Emilia and Michael and nine great-grandchildren.
In addition to her husband Ramsay who passed away in 2004, Marcella was predeceased by a brother Leon Goulet and two sisters, Simone Poulin and Anita Boucher.
A mass of Christian burial will take place on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 11:00 AM at the St. Andre Bessette St. Joseph Church, 30 Church St., Laconia.
A graveside service will follow at 1:30 PM at the NH State Veterans Cemetery, 110 Daniel Webster Highway, Boscawen.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Marcella's name to the St. Andre Bessette Capital Campaign Fund, 291 Union Ave., Laconia, NH 03246.