Marie Claire Theresa Viger Junkins
9/20/1927 – 11/14/2021
CORNISH- Claire Junkins of Limerick Maine died peacefully Sunday at the age of 94. Born in Biddeford ME to Joseph Viger and Ida Labbe Viger and attended Ecole St Joseph Biddeford
Claire started working at a very early age to help the family during the depression. She did this by selling vegetables door to door for her neighbor. Her mother coached her on how to get the most out of her money that she earned. On her 16th birthday, she began working at the Biddeford Pepperell Mill in the weaving room but soon moved up to the folding room where she worked for 15 years. She was very proud to say that she could fold twice as many blankets per day than was required. She was even interviewed in 2013 as part of the oral history of the Pepperell Mill and a related story was published in the Bangor Daily News. In early 1953 while attending the wedding of a dear friend, Claire met her future husband, Alton. They were married in May of that year. Together they had six children: Patrick, Joyce Marie, James, Anne Marie, Lisa Claire, and Glen Francis. Claire also had six angel babies who were waiting for her arrival in heaven.
In 1964 Claire and Alton moved the family to Limerick to start a dairy farm. This was not an easy move for the city girl but she made the most of everything she did. With her eighth grade education and lessons from her mother, she not only managed all the day-to-day chores of a wife and mother but also handled all the bills and farm finances. Even with all those expenses, she managed to put a little away for their future. She accumulated a nice nest egg for retirement. At 94 years old, she still had some of that nest egg money to live on. She worked just as hard as everyone on the farm, if not harder. She worked in the barn, garden, hayfield, and milk room. She still found time to bake cookies or cupcakes for school bake sales or chaperone school field trips with the children. She managed all of this while working at part time job packing apples for a local orchard and eventually taking a full time at the Limerick shoe shop once the children we're in school all day. After she “retired” Claire took jobs cleaning houses and assisting her elderly clients with rides to appointments. Claire was involved with the Democratic Woman’s Club and was often found working the election poles for the Town of Limerick.
Claire was a devout Catholic and communicant of Saint Matthews Catholic Church in Limerick. She found great solace in prayer and attending weekly mass. Claire was once asked why she never became a nun. Her response was that she enjoyed clothes and jewelry too much. Also because she also wanted to have children.
Claire loved to laugh and made everyone around her smile. She made friends everywhere she went. She was always busy working around the farm house. She would paint, wallpaper, or crochet blankets by the mile. She planted flowers, or took disco lessons and aerobics classes with her girlfriends. She enjoyed “the club” at Limerick town hall on winter Saturday nights dancing and socializing with her friends. Later, after the farm livestock were all gone, she took up camping. Some of her favorite times with friends were sitting around a campfire and sipping her coffee brandy.
For a small city girl, Claire loved to travel. She saved her money by quitting smoking. This gave her the money to take her first trip to Hawaii. She was also able to travel to France, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland, Italy, and to the Vatican to see the Pope.
Eventually Claire became a snow bird, she loved the time she spent in Florida with the friends that she made there. She loved the sun and beaches. After Alton died in 2010, Claire was independent for the first time in her life. Her network of friends and neighbors in Florida and in Maine took her under their wings and helped her keep her independence for as long as she could.
Claire was predeceased by brothers Leopold and Ferdinand, sisters Lucille and Noella, parents Joseph and Ida, her husband Alton, children Joyce Marie, Glen Francis, and James. She is survived by her brother Paul, her son Patrick and his wife Rhonda of Cornish, daughters Ann Marie of Springvale and Lisa Dyke and her husband Thomas of Saco. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 5 step grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and several step great grandchildren. Claire was also survived by her beloved companion/dog, Cindy Lou, who was always by her side.
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday Nov. 23 from 4 - 6 PM at the Poitras, Neal & York Funeral Home, 71 Maple St., Cornish. Online condolence messages can be submitted at the funeral home website, www.mainefuneral.com