On Monday, September 7, 2020, Lillian (Jalbert) Bonsaint, loving wife of Armand Bonsaint and mother of Sandra (Bonsaint) Cunha, passed away at the age of 97.
Lillian was born on February 5, 1923 in Caribou, Maine to Odile (Theriault) and Narcisse Jalbert. After she graduated from Caribou High School in 1941, she went to East Hartford, CT with her sister to work for Pratt and Whitney. From there, she met Armand and married. Together they raised their only daughter, Sandra. While in Springfield, MA, she worked for many years and retired from Bosch as a key punch operator. When she moved to Caribou later in her life, she lived for 15 years at Rose Acres and then at Rising Hill for 5 years.
Lillian gave and received great love throughout her life and was grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon her and her family. Her life was not, however, without significant challenges: the loss of her loving husband at a young age of 52 and the loss of her daughter Sandra at the young age of 45. Lillian’s family credit the foundation of close and loving relationships with her family, her deep lifelong faith, her wonderful friends and her extraordinary ability to share a laugh as the life giving and fortifying sources of strength that helped her endure these great challenges.
Lillian loved to spend time with her friends playing Bingo and going on trips to the casino. She spent 25 years actively involved with the VFW Ladies Auxiliary in Caribou, Maine. Lillian also loved to spend time with her family traveling. She took trips to the Maine coast where she visited Wells Beach and when at Old Orchard Beach she enjoyed very much staying at the Friendship Inn. Lillian traveled extensively to Australia, Canada, California, Florida, and Hawaii. When living in Chicopee, cooking a perfect London broil steak for her grandson Eric was something she treasured dearly.
Lillian was preceded in death by her loving husband, Armand, mother and father, Odile (Theriault) Jalbert and Narcisse Jalbert, three brothers, Euclid, Ludger, and Gerald, and three sisters, Alfreda Bell, Florence Kebernick, and Lorraine Molloy. She was also preceded in death by her daughter, Sandra (Bonsaint) Cunha. She is survived by her two brothers, Herman of Portland, ME and Vernon of Caribou, ME, and five sisters, Gertrude Desmond of Newport News, VA, Theresa Cole of Pompano Beach, FL, Hilda Lewis of New Britain, CT, Erline Kennedy of Southbridge, MA and Linda Cyr of Caribou, ME. Lillian is also survived by her only grandchild, Eric Cunha of Holyoke, MA.
A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. at Saint Michael Cemetery, 1601 State Street, Springfield, MA 01109 in Saint Timothy Section. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 01452. For more details and to leave her family online condolence messages, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com