LEWISTON – Esther F. Richard, 96, formerly of 266 Stetson Road, Lewiston, died July 13, at Ste. Marguerite d’Youville Pavilion where she had been a resident for 2 years.

She was born in Cap St. Ignace, Quebec, on Aug. 2, 1908, a daughter of Zephirin and Camille Couillard Fournier. She moved to Lewiston in 1916 where she has since lived. She attended St. Peter’s School in Lewiston and also graduated from Bliss Business College.

She married Dominique J. Richard of Brunswick, on Jan. 17, 1944. She worked for Bates Mill as a clerk in the business office and later for Connie’s Catering.

She was a member of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Ladies of Ste. Anne Sodality, the Ladies of Charity and the Altar Society. She enjoyed cooking, rug braiding, gardening, reading and traveling.

Survivors include a daughter, Muriel McDonough and her husband, Bill Curran, of Harpswell; two sons, Albert and his wife, Connie, of Lewiston and Marc, also of Lewiston; five grandchildren, Steve Richard his fiance, Wanda Staples Buck, and her daughter, Taylor, of Oxford, John McDonough and his fiance, Amanda Ricker, of Lisbon Falls, Matthew Richard and his wife, Karen, of Lewiston, Michelle McDonough of Brunswick, and Jocelyn Shope and her husband, Scott, of Rochester, N.Y.; two great-grandchildren, Mackenzie and Dominique, Richard both of Lewiston; a sister, Yvette Desjardins and her husband, John, of Lewiston; a brother, Leopold Fournier and his wife, Therese, of Auburn; and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband on Aug. 27, 1987; brothers, Avila, Napoleon, Armand, Lucien and Maurice: sisters, Camille Cyr, Gabrielle Hebert, Rita Belisle, Laurianne Philippon; and an adopted sister, Lucienne Auger.