LACONIA ---- Ronan P. (Hickey) Houle, 94, was called safely home and passed peacefully into Eternal Life on Sunday, April 10, 2022, surrounded by her loving daughter Ronan and her son-in-law Ron at The Arbors of Bedford after a long battle with dementia.
She was born January 14, 1928, in Manchester, NH, to the late Thomas F. and Frieda I. (Ditner) Hickey. She lived most of her adult life on 36 Lafayette St. in Laconia, NH.
Ronan was a graduate of Manchester West High School, class of 1945, and the former Hesser Business College in Manchester. She was a longtime bookkeeper, her last job being with Aavid Engineering in Laconia, NH. She was a communicant of St. Andre Bessette Parish in Laconia, NH, until she went to The Arbors of Bedford in Bedford, NH, in 2019. She devoted her life to her family and took great pride in her home and flower gardens. She was an avid and beautiful knitter. The family greatly benefitted from her beautiful creations. She also enjoyed making handmade braided rugs and doing counted cross stitch.
Ronan was predeceased by her loving husband, Lionel R. "Mike" Houle in 2016, her parents Thomas and Frieda, a sister Thomasina I. Huff, and a nephew, Timothy J. Huff. She is survived by her daughter Ronan P. Houle and her son Peter T. Houle. She also leaves her late nephew's wife, Laure Huff, and their children and grandchildren.
She will be sadly missed by her family and friends, but especially by her best friend and neighbor, Janet Drouin, with whom she spent many vacations and many hours cross stitching and knitting. Ronan and Janet, with their spouses, loved to travel by car and had many good times together. She will also be missed by her good friends and neighbors, Allyn and Eileen Hodge, who kept her alive as long as she was at her home.
A Liturgy of Christian Burial was held at St. Raphael's Parish in Manchester, NH, on April 29, 2022. Her grand-nephew, Patrick Cheetham, gave her a beautiful farewell by playing the bagpipes at her funeral. She was very proud of him for learning to play the bagpipes and loved to hear him play them.
She was buried on April 29, 2022, in the family plot in the new section of St. Joseph's Cemetery in Bedford, NH.
Our heartfelt thanks to the staff at The Arbors of Bedford who provided her with loving and compassionate care through her last two and a half years. Also, to Brookhaven Hospice, who provided additional loving and compassionate care during her stay there.
Memorial donations in her name can be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 166 S. River Road #210, Bedford, NH 03110, to the Employee Appreciation Fund at The Arbors of Bedford, 70 Hawthorne Dr., Bedford, NH, to Brookhaven Hospice, 2 Bedford Drive, Suite 105, Bedford, NH or to St. Andre Bessette Parish, 291 Union Ave, Laconia, NH 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH, assisted the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.