Marguerite R.A. Houde

Marguerite Reine Ange (Martel) Houde passed away on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at St. Andrè Health Care in Biddeford, ME.

She was born at home on June 21, 1927, in Biddeford, Maine, the youngest daughter of Edgar and Amanda (Tanguay) Martel.

Marguerite attended St. André's School through the eighth grade when she left to work in a bakery down the street from her house. However, in 1996, she obtained her high school diploma through the Biddeford Adult Education program. She proudly marched as the oldest of her class in her cap and gown at Tiger Gym to receive her diploma. She was 69 years old at the time.

On April 19, 1949, she married Arthur A. Houde at St. André's Church in Biddeford. They had four children and were married 35 years until his death in 1984. Marguerite was a full time mom raising her children and after doing so returned to part time work until her retirement. She was employed at various retail stores in the area including Doyon's Pharmacy, Butler's Dept. Store, and Rich's Dept. Store. Her last employment was assisting the clients at the Truslow Adult DayCare Center which she enjoyed very much.

Music had a special significance in her life. She fondly remembered her father's participation in a competitive drum and bugle corps, as well her role in the school play which when translated into English was called "The Musician Who Didn't Know She Was." While she never learned to read music, she learned to play the piano by ear when she was about seven years old. As a girl, she played a duet, with her father on trombone, and she played on and off for family and friends through each decade of her life.

In her later years, she enjoyed quilting. She made beautiful quilts and other items for family members and friends. She liked cooking & baking for others. Her favorite food was lobster, and her favorite restaurant was Wonderbar in Biddeford, where she ate many meals with friends. She was also an avid seamstress making clothing for her daughters and herself. She was fluent in English and French, was an excellent speller, had beautiful penmanship, and liked to compose just the right words for a card or gift. She also enjoyed playing and calling Bingo when she was a resident at McArthur Apartments where she lived for over 30 years. In 1976, she obtained her driver's license and would often be available to help with her children and grandchildren. She loved visiting with family and friends, including traveling by plane to visit her son and daughter and grandchildren who lived in California, South Carolina and Florida.

As a devout Catholic and a resident of Biddeford for almost all of her life, she was a long time parishioner of St. André's Church in Biddeford. The church held a special place in her heart, and she was a Eucharistic minister and volunteered for several years assisting with the funeral luncheons in the parish. She attended many retreats including a Cursillo retreat, and praying the rosary was an important part of her faith.

Marguerite expressed love through listening well, praying for and helping others, and giving creatively and generously. She will be dearly missed.

She was predeceased by her parents Edgar and Amanda, her siblings, Therese Sylvestre, Paul Martel, and Cecile Boissonneault, her husband Arthur, and two children, Jennifer Hamilton and Denis Houde.

She is survived by two daughters, Diane Fecteau and her husband Bernard of Biddeford, and Celeste Thomason and her husband Steve of Greenville, South Carolina, her grandchildren, Jeffrey Fecteau, Christine Edgar, Joshua Fecteau, Caitlin Neverisky, Amanda Pearson, Benjamin Murray, Christopher Murray, Michelle Savage, Tamara Cinnamon, Heidi Bernardis, and Michael Houde, as well as her sixteen great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Visiting Hours will be from 11AM – 12:45PM on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Cote Funeral Home Chapel, Saco. A Funeral Mass will follow at 1PM Wednesday, at Most Holy Trinity Church in Saco. Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Biddeford after the Funeral Mass.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Marguerite's name to the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (www.maryknollsociety.org) or Good Shepherd Parish (www.goodshepherdparish.us).

The family would also like to thank St. André's Health Care for their dedicated and compassionate care of Marguerite. While a resident at SAHC, she met Bishop Deely, and even shook his hand, during the St. André's Feast Day celebration of mass. She said it was a very special day for her.