Beatrice Marie (Bastien) Rajotte, 97, of Franklin took her first celestial breath at 4:53 am, February 9, 2023 at Alliance Health at Maples, in Wrentham, MA, following a long illness.
She was the wife of the late Ovide J. Rajotte, who died in 1991.
Beatrice was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island on March 27,1925, the daughter of the late Octave and Marie (Dupre) Bastien. Beatrice was raised in Woonsocket and moved to Bellingham in 1965, prior to moving to Franklin in 1980.
She is survived by her children, Ovide O. Rajotte and his wife, Susan, of Uxbridge and Daniel Rajotte and his wife, Gail, of Bellingham. She is also the mother of the late, Jane and John Rajotte.
Beatrice is the sister of the late Roland Bastien and Jeanne Beauchemin.
Beatrice is survived by her three grandchildren, Sarah LiDonni and her husband, Oscar, of Foxboro; Mary Holland and her husband, Patrick, of Uxbridge and Wendy Villella of Woonsocket, RI.
She is survived by her great-grandchildren, Sophia, Matthew and Olivia LiDonni and Ava Holland.
Beatrice was a cashier at Shaw’s Supermarket in Franklin and also at the Home Depot in Bellingham. She loved working at the Home Depot where she was known as “Queen Bea”. Bea would come in an hour before work distributing candy to her co-workers each day. She left in 2013, when she lost her sight, at the age of 88.
Beatrice’s passion was her family, not only her children but her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom she loved immensely. The grandchildren called her “Mem”, short for Memere. Our children and their children’s friends also referred to her as Mem, and she loved it! Bea was the “prayer warrior” in our family, as she would say a rosary every morning and night, with many novenas for those who requested prayers. She also experienced a Cursillo in 1994 at St. John Seminary in Brighton, MA, which not only brought her closer to Jesus, but provided lifelong friendships which she cherished. She loved to crochet and made many blankets for family and friends. Bea also loved working on word and number puzzles. Bea was able to make a pilgrimage to Israel and Sicily through St. Mary Franklin. She often said her trip to Israel was the most profound trip of her life, to actually experience all the holy places where Jesus lived and died was awe inspiring to her.
Her memorial mass and Celebration of Life will be celebrated on March 25th at St. Mary’s Church, Franklin, MA at 10 am.
Burial will be held in the St. Mary parish cemetery in Franklin after the service.
A Celebration of Her Life will be held at the Coachmen’s Lodge in Bellingham, MA directly after the service on March 25th.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind or the American Cancer Society.
Arrangements are under the care of the Ginley Funeral Home of Franklin (www.ginleyfuneralhomes.com).