Flower Mound, TX - Marie was born in Worcester, Massachusetts the daughter of Dr. George and Irene (Racicot) Arseneault and the younger sister to Joan.
She grew up in Webster, spending her summers at the local lake,
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. Marie loved that
lake and her childhood in and on its waters. She became an avid water skier. Her
children would later marvel and ask about how she earned all those skiing
trophies on the bookshelf. Later in life, on trips back home with her own family,
she always found a neighbor or old friend to take her sons out on the lake to ski
for a few hours. She wanted them to share a piece of her childhood and
memories from that wonderful place. Marie always pointed out the ski ramp and
explained that she never jumped – a promise she made and kept to her dad. The
joy she felt from those summer waters was palpable, and she made sure to
share those memories of her idyllic home with her children. Now all of them,
although never having lived there, revel in those long lake swims, local
Massachusetts blueberries, summer corn, and New England clams.
She passed along more than summer memories from her childhood. Marie
shared the joy and love of family. She grew up with a lot of love and family
around her. More than a dozen aunts and uncles filled her life. Sadly, she lost her
mom at age 11. A loss she felt deeply her entire life – even noting recently that
she looked forward to seeing her mother and father again, a thought that made
her transition from this life to the heavens easier.
Marie met the love of her life in that small town. Her life was the type of story that
movie scripts are made from. Dick was the star high school football and baseball
player. Of course, there was a plot device to overcome – he was from the other
side of the tracks. Not geographically, but religiously (and this is not a joke from
their place or time). Marie was raised a devout Roman Catholic at the local
French church, The Sacred Heart of Jesus. Dick Nowak was from St. Joseph’s,
Webster’s Polish Catholic Church. They loved each other and loved recounting
this story because it told their story eloquently – in a small immigrant mill town,
they broke barriers, and their love won. They were teenage sweethearts with big
dreams to go into the future and places far beyond where they came from. And
they did.
Marie graduated from Bartlett High School and later earned a B.S. degree in
home economics from Simmons College in Boston, an alma mater she shared
with her sister and great nieces. After graduation, she became a teacher. At the
same time, Dick went to the United States Military Academy and became an All-
American football player. Marie was his biggest fan on and off the field.
After college, they married at the Most Holy Trinity Chapel at West Point. Marie
reveled in the fun they had. Within a year, she welcomed their first son, Jeffrey
into the world. Months later Dick received the orders they expected and dreaded
- he was being deployed to Vietnam. But even telling this story, Marie was
always full of nostalgia. She talked about living each day before he left to the
fullest – sharing meals and putting fresh flowers in mason jars in their temporary
military housing. She always believed in angels, and getting Dick back home
after 15 months on the front lines made that belief ironclad.
If you listened closely to the stories she shared, you’d learn that Marie designed
and sewed many of her own dresses and outfits that marked the events she and
Dick attended from those years. She was a talented seamstress. Years later, it
was not unusual to see an old picture, and she’d tell you how she made the outfit
while pulling it out of her closet to show you.
Dick’s return let her continue the journey she and they always wanted – a long
life and family together. They had three sons, Jeffrey, Matthew, and Eric, whom
she poured her life into. She definitely was not a helicopter parent, but she was
always there – from morning wake ups, packing school lunches, nightly dinners,
homework help, games, field days, and parties. Every birthday was celebrated
with amazing homemade cakes – that would have been great viewing on today’s
reality cooking shows – edible 3D sculptures, always an amazing surprise at the
reveal.
She celebrated achievements and everyday moments with interesting food and
often a glass of wine. A TV or magazine recipe never intimidated her. She even
dared to learn to make from scratch Polish mainstays like pierogis, kluski, and
golompki. She had fun cooking and eating good food, especially with family and
friends nearby.
Frugality and Marie were dear friends. She attributed this skill to starting her
married life on a second lieutenant’s salary. A favorite life lesson she often retold
was rooted in a night of cards where Dick and Marie gambled away all their
coins – their laundry money literally gone for the week. Even as their fortunes
changed, Marie’s eye for saving money never did. Every dollar and coin counted,
and every coupon clipped. She took this philosophy into her real estate career
that she began in her forties when she quickly became a very successful local
realtor.
In almost every retelling about her life’s adventures, money was never the key
element, except that there may have been a lack of it along the way. But with or
without the money, Marie made the moments happen.
Marie modeled when you take on a responsibility like having kids, you go all in.
There were no days off for her, even when struck by rheumatoid arthritis in a time
with no effective treatments. She lived over 50 years with that terrible disease.
Her grit and determination would not yield to it. It would not conquer her
spirit – she walked for years on feet that structurally should not have supported
her, and sewed and cooked and played bridge with hands that weren’t hands. If
she felt sorry for herself, she never expressed it. Even last week, when we told
her we were sorry for all the physical pain she endured – she quickly quashed
that sentiment reminding us that so many people had it much worse than she did.
She was always grateful, but especially so in her later years, of all the
opportunities and experiences she got beyond her small hometown. Every home
along the way – from North Carolina, Colorado twice, the Presidio in San
Francisco, West Point New York, San Antonio, Arizona, and finally North
Texas – was special because she made it hers and her family’s. Marie was
grateful for her time and good fortune. Her adulation for Dick never wavered. She
loved her sons deeply. Her daughters-in-law Angie, Robin, and Robyn were a
source of great pride and friendship. Family get-togethers, especially
Christmases were savored. She cherished her grandchildren, and seeing
Michael, Jonathan, Alex, Austin, Gabe, Remi, Laine, and Allison at her house
together made her so happy.
Marie was the glue and mortar for her family in both good and tough times --
always worrying about everyone else. She told us near the end that she would
take all her good memories with her. We are blessed that Marie shared her life
with us, and we will take and keep all the good memories with us too.
Our family wants to express our heartfelt thanks to all of Marie’s healthcare
providers over the past few years, especially the wonderful people at Hollymead
Continuing Care Center and Faith Presbyterian Hospice.
A Mass celebrating her life will be held at 10:00 AM in St. Joseph’s Basilica, 53 Whitcomb Street, Webster, Massachusetts on Thursday, April 13, 2023. The family will receive relatives and friends starting at 9:30 AM in the church. Burial will be in Saint Joseph Garden of Peace, Webster. A reception will follow in the Richard A. Nowak Gymnasium, 47 Whitcomb Street, Webster.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Scholarship
Fund at St. Joseph’s School in Webster:
http://scholarshipfund.sjs-webster.com/, or a charity of your choice.