AUBURN – Merita J. Fournier, 86, of Meadowview Apartments, died peacefully on Feb. 8, at Hospice House surrounded by family and friends. She was the wife of the late Emile J. Fournier of Rumford.

She was born in Chisolm on July 9, 1919, the daughter of the late Antoine J. and Adrienne Chenard Landry. She graduated from Lewiston High School in 1937. She was married on Feb. 14, 1942, and spent most of her married life raising her family in a 200-year-old farmhouse in rural Lisbon.

She loved the trees and flowers surrounding her home and was known for the beautiful gardens she kept.

She was a CRMA and was one of the original home-care workers for Androscoggin Home Health, where she was employed for 14 years. She left that position to care for her elderly parents. She later returned to the health-care field and was employed by Intown Manor for 18 years until her retirement at the age of 78.

While at Intown, she formed a strong and enduring bond of friendship with Karen, Kathy, Millie and Tina, several of whom tended to her in her last days.

She is survived by her four children, Suzanne M. Fournier and husband, Daniel Fournier, of Wales, David E. Fournier of Topsham, Reinette Fournier and husband, Thomas Speare, of Newport, R.I., and Dennis M. Fournier of Lewiston; her two sisters, Martha Roux Friedman and Gertrude L. Mynahan, both of Lewiston; her two grandchildren, Christopher D. Fournier of Portland and Amy B. Cunningham of Sabattus; and her three great-grandchildren, Kailey Jo Fortin, Dillon S. Cunningham, and Jenna M. Cunningham, all of Sabattus.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was also predeceased by her brothers, Louis De Gonzague Landry and Rene Paul Landry of Lewiston; and her sister, Dorothy L. Latarche of Belleview, Fla.