SANFORD — Theresa M. Deschenes, 86, of Sanford, passed away on Monday, April 14, 2014 at the Southern Maine Health Care Facility in Sanford.

She was born in Sanford on Nov. 3, 1927, a daughter of the late Alphonse and Odile (Mercier) Therrien.

She attended the former Holy Family School.

She had been employed at the former Sanford Goodall Mills, Eastern Plastics and Spraque Electric.

She was a communicant of St. Ignatius and Holy Family parishes. For more than 25 years, she cared for the altar linens at St. Ignatius Church. A life member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, she was also a member of the Ladies of St. Anne.

She enjoyed gardening, canning and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She will be remembered for the doll clothes and doll linens she made that were placed in the wooden cradles that were made by her husband and were used for the yearly church Christmas fair. She also volunteered her time for many years working in the St. Ignatius Parish Thrift Shop.

She was preceded in death by: her husband of 54 years, Paul J. Deschenes, who passed away in 2005; one brother, Maurice Therrien; and sisters, Marie Ange Therrien, Gisele Vermette and Isabelle DeRoche.

She is survived by: her children, Paul E. Deschenes of Hiram, Mark E. Deschenes and his wife Marguerite of Sanford, John E. Deschenes and his wife Kim of Limerick, Ronald Deschenes and his wife Wendy of Grand Prairie, Texas, Richard Deschenes, Claire Morrison and her husband James and Anne M. Wintermute and her husband Donald, all of Sanford; 16 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Visiting hours will be on Monday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Lafrance-Lambert & Black Funeral Home, 29 Winter St., Sanford. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish, Holy Family Church. Burial will follow at St. Ignatius Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed at www.blackfuneralhomes.com.



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