Annette C. Groleau

BERLIN - Wednesday evening August 5, 2015, in the presence of her family, Annette C. Groleau, 81, of Barre went home to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing in Berlin.
Born in Graniteville, Vermont on August 16, 1933 to Hector and Emerentinne (Trudeau) Cotnoir of Coaticook, Quebec, Annette grew up on farms in Graniteville and Orange. She graduated from Spaulding High School in 1952 after taking one year off during her junior year to care for her ailing mother at home. On September 29, 1956, she and Marcel G. Groleau of Williamstown were united in marriage at St. Monica Catholic Church in Barre. After a Hampton Beach, NH honeymoon, the couple settled and raised a family in Barre.
Annette worked at J.J. Newberry’s candy counter while in high school. After graduating she worked as a bookkeeper at the Granite City Co-Op Creamery and at Jones Brothers. She became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her third child. She continued to do the bookkeeping for Marcel’s business, Groleau Construction Inc. After her children were grown up, Annette returned to work – first at Ames Department Store, then Brooks Pharmacy, and Rite Aid where she blessed many people who encountered her sweet spirit and genuine personal interest in their lives. She was an active member of St. Monica Catholic Church.
She is survived by her husband, Marcel, and three of their four children: daughter Colette and her husband, Guy Page, of Barre; son Mark and his wife, Christine, and their daughter, Bailey, of Orange; and daughter Lisa and her husband, Philip Robtoy, and Phil’s son, Lucien, all of Enosburg. Her firstborn, Rose Marie Parauka, predeceased her in 2007. Also surviving is son-in-law, Richard Parauka, of New Haven, CT, their son, Sean, and his wife, Candice of Milford, CT, and daughter, Heather Parauka, of Round Rock, TX. Annette, one of seven children, is survived by her brother, Leonard Cotnoir, of Barre and her sister, Diane Nisen, of Montpelier and several nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents and by brothers Marcel (‘Jerry’), Roger, and Richard (‘Dick’) Cotnoir, and sister Yvonne C. Wildbur.

Annette Groleau will be remembered as a gentle, faithful, cheerful and devoted sister, wife, and mother. Her children learned by word and example to work hard at home and on the job, to be patient, and to forgive. Very interested in the lives of others, she was a compassionate listener with an open heart and an open ear, eager to share in people’s joys and concerns. Son Mark recalled the day after she died, “Mom taught me how to forgive. She forgave everyone and everything, it seems.” She routinely put the needs and desires of others before her own.
She enjoyed dancing, bingo, and cards. In her final months Annette, challenged with COPD and dementia, passed the days at Woodridge engrossed in word-search puzzles. On her final afternoon, Marcel whispered in her ear, “It’s okay to let go. If God is calling you, you can go. I won’t be far behind you.” She looked in his eyes, and smiled with acknowledgement.
Annette's life celebration and mass of Christian burial will be held Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 10 a.m. in St. Monica Catholic Church in Barre.
Interment will follow in St. Sylvester Cemetery in Barre Town.
Friends may call at the Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home, 7 Academy St., Barre on Friday from 5:00 to 8:00 pm.
Memorial contributions may be made to Project Independence Adult Day Health Service, 81 N. Main St., Barre, VT 05641.