AUBURN – Therese (Terry) M. Fontaine, 84, formerly of 82 Loring Ave., Auburn, died peacefully on Sept. 18, at Clover Health Care, after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born in Auburn on May 21, 1923, the daughter of Cecile (Ferland) Thibault. Terry was a 1940 graduate of Edward Little High School and worked for many years at Ward Bros. clothing store, before finishing out her working years at the Lewiston Daily Sun in the classified ad department.

She married Roger Fontaine in 1989, the year they both retired from the S-J, to live out the rest of their years together and very much in love. She was predeceased by her wonderful husband, who passed away in June of this year.

She will be remembered as a loving wife and mother, devoted to the care and well-being of her family. She was a very strong, independent and optimistic person who was very committed to her Catholic faith and lived her life by the teachings of the church. As a retiree, she enjoyed attending the weekly line dancing class held every Tuesday morning at Temple Shalom, until she became too ill to “kick up her heels.”

She will be sadly missed by her loving daughter, Deborah Taylor, and partner, Louise Daigle, of Portland; sister, Frances Thibault of Foxboro, Mass.; brother, Joseph Thibault of Melbourne, Fla.; sisters-in law, Florette Fontaine and Jacqueline Culina; stepson, Paul, and wife, Elizabeth, of Fort Myers, Fla.; stepdaughter, Joline Fontaine, and partner, Elisa Adams, of Solebury, Pa.; and stepdaughter, Michele Fontaine, and partner, Rebecca, of Woodstock, Conn.

She was predeceased by her mother; sister, Rolande; sister-in-law, Alma; brother-in-law, Larry; and uncle Hector and aunt Hedwidge Ferland, with whom she lived in Jackman during her youth.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the outstanding care and compassion given to Terry and her daughter by the entire care team at Clover Health Care and the Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice Team – nurse, Kathleen, CNA, Mona Lisa and Chaplain, Kitsie for the help they provided Terry in the end stage of her disease. A special thanks to Dr. Sarah Skelton from Family Health Associates who assisted the family in the transition to hospice care, a decision that greatly enhanced the quality of Terry’s last few months of life.