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- Birth: Feb. 12, 1906Death: Mar. 25, 2011
AUGUSTA - Maria Gosselin Arbour, age 105, passed away on March 25, 2011at Augusta Rehabilitation Center.
Mrs. Arbour was born on Feb. 12, 1906, in St. Ephrem, PQ, Canada, the daughter of the late Theophile and Emma (Leclerc) Gosselin. The family moved to Augusta in 1911.
Mrs. Arbour attended St. Augustine School, and later worked in the spinning room at the Edwards Mill as a spinner, doffer and frame cleaner until 1967. Over the years, she enjoyed gardening, sewing, crocheting afghans, quilting, crewel work and hooking rugs. She loved to read and spend time with family and friends.
Mrs. Arbour was a communicant of St. Michael Parish at St. Augustine Church.
She married Hector C. Arbour on Oct. 17, 1927, and they had five children. Mr. Arbour died in 1967.
Besides her husband and parents, she was predeceased by her three sons,Bertrand J. Arbour, J. Clement Arbour and Hector "Babe" Arbour; her son-in-law, Herbert G. Foley; grandsons-in-law, Marc Fontaine and RaymondJ. Pare; and her six brothers and five sisters.
Mrs. Arbour is survived by two daughters, Christine I. Arbour of Augusta and Jacqueline Foley of Hallowell; grandchildren Susan Mitton and herhusband, Fred, of Sidney, Lisa Pare of Sidney, Kathleen Smith and her husband, Travis, of Folsom, Calif.;Michael J. Arbour and his wife, Jennifer, of Union, Dennis Arbour of Augusta, Kimberly Bard and her husband, Michael, of Augusta, Nicole Lennon and her husband, Dr. Richard, of Odessa, Fla., David Arbour and his wife, Mary Lynn, of Port Richey, Fla., and Renay Arbour-Cernusehi and her husband, Davide, of Brooklyn, N.Y.Also great-grandchildren Matthew and Shelby Fontaine, Nicole and Ryan Emmons. Jennifer Pare and Sarah Pare, Noah, Lauren, and Luke Smith, JacArbour, Amy Ansart, Riley and ZebArbour, Chelsea and Julie Arbour, John DeMerchant andZoe Bard; and step-granddaughter Gabrielle Bard, Alexandra, Samantha, and Victoria Lennon, and Sarah and Michael A. Arbour; three daughters-in-law, Lucienne Arbour of Augusta, Gloria Fleming andherhusband, William, of Augusta, and Sharon Chase-Arbour of Kalispell, Mont.; and by extended family, Joseph and Paula Chase of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Susan Chase and Marie Claire Dulac of England. Also, many nieces and nephews.
Burial will be at a later date in St. Augustine Cemetery, Augusta. (Kennebec Journal 3/27/2011) Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME) -- Saturday 11 Feb 2006
MODEST MATRIARCH TURNING 100 -- by Lynn Ascrizzi
To Maria Arbour, growing up in a large Franco-American family in Augusta during the early 1900s meant learning to put others first, doing without, and getting acquainted with hard work. "When we wereyoung, we did what we had to do. We had a little bit, not much," she said in a gentleFrench accent without a trace of self-pity. Instead, she laughed, almost gaily, at the memories. Christmas might mean getting a banana in your stocking, a rare treat in those days, a gift to be shared with some of her six brothers and five sisters. "Easter was a big day. Sometimes, we'd get a new pair of shoes or a little hat," Arbour, 99, said. In today's world, where what you possess is often the going standard for happiness, some people might view her childhood as a deprivation. Yet thoseearly hardships only added to her appreciation for all that life has given. On a recent sunny morning, she talked about her long life while seated in the living room of a small, pleasant apartment shared with herdaughter, Christine Arbour, 72, of Augusta. Since English is not her first language, her daughter often translated for her in French. Also present that morning were her grandson, Michael Arbour, 46, of Union, andgranddaughter, Kim Bard, 37, of Augusta. Arbour's 100th birthday will be celebrated by almost 200 family members and friends, from noon to 4 today at the Calumet Club in Augusta. She turns 100 on Sunday. And to Arbour, whose smile could light up the darkest corner, 100 years of living has given much. "I learned to get along with everybody, to be friendly. Always be good to others and help others," she said when asked whatshe had learned from her long life. "I'm OK," she said regarding her health. "The ears are old. The legs are not good. They don't serve me somuch," she said, with humor. Despite a hearing problem, she had no trouble keeping up with conversation. Modesty and Discipline -- Maria Arbour was born in 1906, in Saint Ephrem, Quebec, the eighth of 15 children, three ofwhom died in infancy. "We had two horses and a few cows. Not much. We ate three meals a day," she said. Her family moved to Maine when she was 5. Her father, Theophile Gosselin, found work at EdwardsMillin Augusta. At that time, there were eight children, and the family shared a four-room apartment on Mill Street. "In those days, we slept three in a bed. I'm not lying. That's true. Everybody was like that; we all hadbig families," she said. She remembers her mother, Emma Leclerc Gosselin, as "a happy-go-lucky" woman. "She had to prepare clothes for the kids, secondhand things and leftovers. She did the cooking. Not too many people had cars in those days.There was no money to ride. We walked." She attended St Augustine School until the seventh grade. "I wasn't too bad," she said of hergrades. Her daughter, however, recalled talking to "two maiden ladies" who had been her mother's classmates."They said she was the best in class," she said. "Probably," her mother quipped,"the others weren't that good." At age 14, Arbour found work at nearbyPoulin's grocery store for $15 per week. "That was good," she said. Her wages went to help the family. At 15, she found work at the cottonmill as a spinner, a "doffer", and a frame cleaner. "For us it was hard work. We had clocks by the machine. You had to go by the clock. If the machine stopped, you didn't get paid. They were not thatgenerous," she said of her employers. She worked at the mill, at the same job, for 40 years. She retired at age 61 in 1967. At age 21, she married Hector Arbour, who also worked at the mill. He courted her for one year. "He came to thehouse on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sometimes we'd go to the movies. We'd go forwalks around Sand Hill." Why did she choosehim? "He was handsome; he was nice. They have to be nice to marry them," she said. She and her husbandcontinued to work at the mill, even after their five children were born. "We'd take turns. One would work nights, the other work days." Later, they bought a home on Oxford Street and lived there 47 years. "We saved our money," she said. Her daughter recalled growing up in an organized household with hardworking parents."They were always interestedin what we did. We knew what was expected of us. My mother was even-tempered," she said. "We're proud," Maria Arboursaid of her extended family, which includes her threeliving children -- Christine, daughter Jacqueline "Jackie" Foley, 69, of Hallowell, and son Hector "Babe" Arbour, 62 -- nine grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She keeps up with her offspring's activities, including Cony High School basketball and soccer games. "They're good players," she said. "I've never seen mémère ?ur Mis - erecsaole?ees18 Rivitab» «tab»mad once in her life," said her grandson Michael Arbour. "We all have our father's temperament," Christine Arbour saidwith humor. To her family, Maria Arbour is the honored matriarch. "I look at mémère as our Rose Kennedy. She instills a moral fibe?ur Mis - e recsaole?ees18 Rivitab» «tab»r. Nobody has disappointed her in the family. That means a lot to her.There's God -- and there's mémère," her grandsonsaid, laughing.
Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME) -- Sunday 12 Feb 2006
100 YEARS OLD TODAY
A headline on page A1 in Saturday's Kennebec Journal listed the incorrect hometown for Maria Arbour. She is from Augusta.
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1906 - 2011 (105 ans)