Mrs. Jeannette L. (Lavigne) Godin, 85, of Franklin, died Monday, Aug. 25, 2008, at Milford Regional Hospital, following a long period of failing health. She was the wife of the late Robert O. Godin, who died in 1981.
Born in Three Rivers, Quebec, Canada, Feb. 16, 1923, a daughter of the late Louis and Regina (LeBlanc) Lavigne, she lived in Franklin for 19 years.
She came to the United States when she was 9 months old. Her family settled in Nashua, N.H., where she was raised and educated. She moved to Fitchburg at age 18, and then to Detroit, Mich., where she lived for more than 30 years, until returning to this area.
Mrs. Godin was a retired property manager for the Ambassador East Apartments in Detroit. She also worked as a switchboard operator at the University of Michigan for four years.
Mrs. Godin was a longtime volunteer at the gift shop at Milford Hospital, and also served as a companion for several years at Tri-Valley Elder Services. She was a former member of Gesu Church in Detroit, and was a communicant of St. Mary Church in Franklin.
Her family would like to acknowledge and thank all of the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals at Milford Regional Medical Center for their care and compassion during her illness.
She is survived by two daughters, Virginia Jakes of Ann Arbor, Mich., Paulette T. Thomas and her husband, Ray, of Franklin, with whom she lived; her grandchildren, Marc Farmer and his wife, Vangie, Eric and Tina Farmer, Jennifer Bavar and her husband, Amir, and their three children, Cheryl Bavar and her husband, Orod, and their four children, Nicole Conlin and her husband, Richard, and their three children, Renee Pyrtel and her husband, Mike.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend her funeral Friday, at 8:15 a.m., from the Charles F. Oteri & Son Franklin Funeral Home, 33 Cottage St., www.franklinfuneral.com, with a funeral Mass in St. Mary Church, Franklin, at 9 a.m. Interment will follow at the family lot in St. Joseph Cemetery in Fitchburg, at 11:30 a.m.
Donations in her memory, sent to St. Vincent dePaul Society, in care of St. Mary Church, 1 Church Square, Franklin, MA 02038, would be appreciated.