Laurette Marie-Marguerite (Bolduc) Childs (1930-2020)

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Laurette Marie-Marguerite (Bolduc) Childs

PHILLIPS – Laurette Marie-Marguerite (Bolduc) Childs, longtime resident of Phillips, died peacefully at the age of 89, on April 23, 2020, at Edgewood Rehabilitation and Care Center in Farmington.

She was born in Lewiston, on June 10, 1930, the daughter of Raymond and Lucina (Poulin) Bolduc. She grew up and attended schools in Phillips.

Like many locals, she worked in a variety of jobs including making clothespins at the Diamond Match Mill in Phillips. During these early years, Laurette met a young man working in the area on the highway tar crew and, soon thereafter, married Robert Childs on October 29, 1949. This began a long life together of over 70 years. While “Bobby”, as she liked to call him, was serving four years in the Air Force, Laurette lived in Phillips and Harlingen, Texas. The couple had two children.

After she and Bob returned to Phillips, Laurette primarily worked as a housewife raising the kids and maintaining their home, but also did a variety of jobs for folks in the area. She gave permanents to local women and did housekeeping for the town doctor and other folks. She helped care for the elderly or sick whenever that was needed. She even dressed the hair of the deceased for the local funeral director, Donald James. A very skilled person, she knitted mittens, made decorative pillows, and sewed clothing, including matching shirts for father and son that young Larry thought was very cool.

In addition to her other skills, Laurette was a great cook and kept the family and visitors well-fed with homemade bread, pies, cakes, canned vegetables from the garden, including the tiny sour pickles she made as a family favorite. When her son married, Laurette enjoyed teaching his young wife how to make excellent filled cookies and pie crusts. Laurette often baked nine loaves of bread at a time, and her delicious raspberry pies were enjoyed by anyone fortunate enough to have some. Feeding others gave her great joy, and her dessert and pastry-making talent, from cookies to pies to hand-made chocolates of all flavors, brought joy to many. Whenever she thought Bob was going for too many helpings, she would affectionately chide him by calling him “seagull”.

Over the years, Laurette enjoyed a variety of activities. Never afraid of hard work, and being a neatnik, she kept her home spotless and enjoyed working outside, keeping the yard immaculate with no dropped twig too small for her eagle eyes to find. For several years, she and Bob enjoyed staying at a camp they built on their property, and they snowmobiled for a number of winters, adventuring with others as far away as the top of Saddleback Mountain. She and Bob enjoyed wintering in Florida for almost three decades.

Laurette spent many enjoyable hours searching old dump sites for antique bottles with her game warden neighbor, Ray Ellis. She also bought a moped and made many road trips with her friend, Betty Haggan, venturing to such distant destinations as Castle in the Clouds in New Hampshire. Laurette tended her raspberry patch, grew beautiful flowers, and enjoyed feeding birds and watching the many creatures visiting their property including deer, coyotes, turkeys, and the occasional moose. An avid flea marketer and voracious collector, she accumulated many things both useful and not-so-useful. If someone ever needed something, Laurette probably had it.

Laurette was predeceased by her husband by only 9 days; her brothers, Leo and Louis; and sisters, Jacqueline and Doris. She is survived by children Larry Childs and wife Arolyn of Fairfield; Carol Childs and partner Rick Enos of Mexico; and grandchildren Benjamin Desjardins and Kasey Childs.

No funeral services are planned due to the pandemic, but there may be a private family gathering at a later date. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, Maine 04938.

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8 Comments

  1. We are so sorry to hear of the death of your parents. They will be missed by the entire community.

  2. Condolences to the family. Laureate and Shorty were a fixture in Phillips. I grew up on their street. Very nice people. They will be missed.

  3. What a beautiful obituary. I didnt know her, but from your words I feel like I do. Sounds like an amazing lady and a wonderful family <3

  4. Dear Childs’ family, I am so very sorry for your loss of your parents, they were such sweet people. We always saw them at the fly in breakfasts with smiles on their faces. Your Dad delivered gravel to our home when we were building and was always pleasant whenever we saw him.

    Unfortunately I know exactly how you feel, as I lost both my parents late last summer only 20 days apart. It was the most difficult, emotional and heartbreaking time my family has ever experienced. Although it my not seem like it now, it will get easier to deal with the sadness and emotions. Sharing all your memories and stories of your parents with family and friends really does help heal your broken heart. As Mother’s Day approaches we will share a similar experience of spending our first one without our Moms and the same experience when Father’s Day comes. Draw your strength from the love you had for parents and their love for all of you.
    With you in spirit.
    Mary Kate E

  5. Our condolences to Larry and Carol.
    We loved spending time with Aunt Laurette also.
    We loved it when they came to Florida for the winter.
    Our Daughter Elizabeth had a blast with them at Universal Studios and when they stayed with us in their campers.
    RIP Aunt Laurette the world is a better place because you were in it.
    Would love to read her daily journals.

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