Lucille Rabidoux

WINOOSKI - A loving mother, wonderful friend, and faithful servant went to be with the Lord on Jan. 30, 2013, following a brief illness. Lucille (Paquette) Rabidoux was born in Adamsville, Canada, June 21, 1923, to Arsene and Rose (Barsalou) Paquette. After living briefly in Swanton, she moved to Winooski, where she eventually became an American citizen. She married Albert J. Rabidoux, who had a stroke when her youngest child was six months old. She continued to care for him at home for the next 22 years, never once considering another placement for him. He predeceased her in 1988. Lucille was an excellent seamstress and loved sewing and making crafts. In the '70s she started the Christmas Bazaar at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Colchester, organizing the event and making most of the crafts herself by leading workshops for projects she found and made examples for. Her meat pies are legendary, and were a big hit with the bazaar crowd. Her meat pie recipe is still being made by others for their bazaars. She was also well known for her maple fudge, another favorite. She also volunteered for many events at our Lady of Grace Church, as well as for the Ladies Auxiliary at the Fanny Allen Hospital. In 1995, she moved back to Winooski on Barlow Street. Here she continued to care for others, organizing meals for the "elderly," hosting card parties, (her favorite pastime) and making mittens to give to children who didn't have any. She also loved to knit small caps, which she asked be delivered to the infants at Fletcher Allen. Lucille loved her family, her friends, and life, always trusting in the Lord. Even after her diagnosis several years ago with dementia, she would often comment at how lucky she was that at her age, she was healthy and not in pain. The glass was always half-full, and she would say, "There's nothing you can do about it, but go with the flow. God has a plan. No sense worrying about it." And, in his great mercy, God called her following a brief struggle with pancreatic cancer. Lucille was predeceased by her parents; husband; and 10 brothers and sisters. She is survived by her daughter, Sue Dumas of Ohio, and her husband, Larry; son, Roland Rabidoux of Colchester, and his wife, Sharon; son, Paul Rabidoux of Winooski, and his wife, Chris; and daughter, Lynn Mazza of Colchester, and her husband, Mike. She leaves behind eight grandchildren, Paul Dumas and his wife, Becca, Chris Dumas, Rebecca Doyon and her husband, Erik, Erika Rabidoux, Justin Rabidoux and his wife, Jodi, Adam Rabidoux and his wife, Jess, Kate Koller and her husband, Ben, and Erik Mazza. She also leaves behind 11 great- grandchildren; her youngest sister, Sally Senesac of Fort Myers, Fla.; and several sisters-inlaw, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, greatnieces, and greatnephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Colchester on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at 10 a.m. In lieu of calling hours, the family would like to invite everyone to the parish hall immediately following the Mass for dessert, coffee and memories. A private interment will be at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Winooski. Published in The Burlington Free Press on January 31, 2013