Gilberte “Gil” Lemieux, 99 years, longtime resident of Saco, died in the early  morning hours, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, at Sealrock, in Saco.

She was predeceased by her husband of 40 years, Roland “Bull” Lemieux, however, she always called him “Rol.”

On a cold, wintry day on Feb. 12, 1925, Gilberte Theresa Compagna was born to Mary (Sévigny) and Alexandre Compagna in a farmhouse where they lived off the Buxton Road in Saco.  The farmhouse/barn was located a little further down the road from where the Way Way Store presently stands; it was considered way, way out-of-town back in the day. The story that was passed down to her was the doctor had to make his way on his own during a snowstorm as his horse got stuck in the snow in order to help deliver Gil. A frequent saying of hers was, “I came in with a storm and I’ll go out with one.”

She lost her mother as a young child, when Mary died in 1931. Gil was the 10th out of 11 children, and was predeceased  by her siblings, Irene, Aline, Gert, Renald, Paul, Rose, Blanche, Lou, Gerry and Eddie.

Regarding how she came to be named Gilberte, she said, “My name was chosen by my Godfather on the Sévigny side.  He was the one who picked my name – every time he came over to visit he gave me 10 cents. How he came up with the name, I have no idea. I‘ve always hated it.” So for most of her life she was known by the moniker, Gil.

She graduated from Notre Dame School in Saco, spending her youth growing up on the farm until the age of 18 when she moved to in-town Biddeford, where she rented a room on Bradbury Street.  Her best friend, Anita Perron, lived across the street while Gil was employed doing clerical work at the Saco-Lowell Shops, and where she  met her husband, Rol, who was in the apprenticeship program.

She signed up to play on the girls baseball league at work. Gil was the catcher for the team, and Rol helped with the equipment and watched the team. “He used to look like he was going for my friend, Anita, to make me jealous. I couldn’t figure out why he was going for her. I thought he was so handsome. I guess we talked a lot – he liked me and I liked him.” His sister Lena had once said, “I’ll say she was a pretty good catcher, she caught my brother!” Lena became her matron of honor.

They married on Oct. 11, 1952,  at St. Joseph’s Church, Biddeford.
Soon after the birth of their first child, Susan, Gil became a stay-at-home mom, doing everything that was needed for her growing family of four.

An astute shopper, Gil really enjoyed seeking out the bargains to be had. She loved clothes shopping the best@

In the 1960s, she took up oil painting, with only a lesson or two from a local artist to help her get started, she became a prolific “Sunday Painter,” in the few short years she painted.

Other favorite interests included bowling for a while where she participated in the  morning coffee league, as well as playing golf, which she loved and continued to play well into her 70s. In the  latter years of marriage, her husband and she would participate in local golfing  tournaments at Dutch Elm Golf Course and Biddeford-Saco Country Clubs, in addition to attending big tournaments to watch. Her favorite channel was by and far the golf network, and easily on many a Sunday she could be found watching a tournament on TV in the afternoon while at the Inn at Atlantic Heights Assisted Living. She loved watching and talking about all things golf-related.

However, her most favorite thing to do was to travel – to see things she had seen previously seen in books or never seen before,  experiencing different cultures. Along with her husband Rol, they traveled around the globe in later years including places as far away as Australia and New Zealand, to Paris and London, India and Egypt, just to name a few places abroad. Her favorite destination was Egypt. She wished she could have gone back one more time and was fascinated  by the pyramids, mummies and traveling on the Nile River. She even rode atop a camel! Gil also did a few road trips with her good friend, Justine Sears, sharing in the driving responsibility.

After Roland’s untimely death in 1992, she continued to live out her days on her own for almost 30 years in her home on Wendy Way, Saco, where she spent a lot of time outside gardening flowers and pruning many, many shrubs to perfection. She took pride in the work she did to help maintain the outside grounds and wasn’t afraid to work hard. She could often be found with broom or rake in hand clearing off lawn and brickwork, weeding, or painting the deck all up until the age of 96! She very much loved to be outside and talk with her  neighbors and especially enjoyed seeing little Corbin from across the street, as well as having conversations with Kevin, her other neighbor.  She also loved to sit outside on the porch in the late afternoon sunshine after a long day of work.

For the past three years, Gil was a resident at the Inn at Atlantic Heights in Saco, where she made many friends, enjoyed taking walks, and recently looked forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays to play Bingo. “My kids,” she affectionately called the kitchen crew of girls who came to visit her after work. It was a blessing to have all the folks who came by to see her in her final days at Sealrock in Saco. Gil especially appreciated and loved visits with family and friends.

Gil is survived by: children, Susan and husband Don Cote, Carl and wife Sabine Schaack, Anne Lemieux and husband Marc Kaplan, Dan and wife Gayle; grandchildren, Lydia Laakman, Emily Sirois and Annaliese Lemieux-Kaplan; and great-grandchildren, Nolan, Ellie, Isaac Laakman and Mackenzie Sirois.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cote Funeral Home, 87 James St., Saco. Public visitation is on Thursday, Aug. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m., with a funeral service at 4 p.m.