PORTLAND — Katherine Ilene LaMontagne, formerly of Lewiston and Cambridge, Mass., died in Portland on Saturday, June 25, surrounded by loving family. She was less than three weeks shy of her 101st birthday. Katherine was a remarkable woman of great faith, courage and optimism who will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

She was born in Lewiston, July 14, 1910, (Bastille Day), the daughter of the late Leopold J. and Margaret E. (Casey) LaMontagne. Her father was the son of Quebec and Irish immigrants and was a beloved city police officer. Her mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants who moved with her family from Portland to Lewiston in the 1870s. Her mother’s early death made a great impact on the lives of Katherine’s father and her four siblings as they banded together to endure “The Great Depression.” Katherine’s siblings, who all predeceased her, were Leopold E. LaMontagne, Margaret E. LaMontagne, Florence G. Hall and William R. LaMontagne.

Katherine attended Lewiston’s parochial and public schools before graduating from Lewiston High School in 1926. She was a proud alumna of Bates College Class of 1930, and enjoyed walking the campus in subsequent years and reminding family members that her class had donated the campus sun dial as a gift.

Following graduation, and in need of employment during the Depression, she accepted a teaching job in Puerto Rico. The experience made a great impression on her and she often recounted warm memories of that time. Upon her return to the states, she worked briefly at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., taught English at Lewiston High School, and subsequently relocated for work in Massachusetts.

Katherine lived in Cambridge, Mass., for the majority of her professional life. She worked in the public schools there as a librarian. She organized a new library at Billerica High School and retired in 1976 from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, where she was a librarian for many years. She pursued post-graduate studies at Harvard University and Simmons College before obtaining a Master’s Degree in Library Sciences from Boston University, where she was a member of Pi Lambda Thi, an honorary scholastic society.

Upon retirement, Katherine volunteered in the gift shop at Youville Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., for many years and traveled with family and friends. She spent summers with family in Maine, and together they enjoyed beautiful summer days at Goose Rock’s Beach in Kennebunkport, complete with outings along the coast, as well as dining, shopping and summer theatre. Katherine loved people and culture.

She was a frequent patron of the theatre, museums, and arts of all sorts, both in Boston and in Maine. She especially loved to travel, and made numerous trips to Europe, South America, Asia and elsewhere. Some of her most cherished memories were of travels with her niece, Joanne, and her sisters, Florence and Margaret, which took them to Quebec, Vermont, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and St. Augustine. Once asked where her favorite place in the world to visit was, she replied: “Paris, but I loved the food in Italy best!”

Following her return to Lewiston in the mid-1990s, Katherine remained active in the community as a member of Lewiston’s chapter of the Woman’s Literary Union and as a communicant of St. Joseph’s Parish. Katherine was a devout Catholic. Her deep faith sustained her through numerous life challenges, including the unexpected loss of loved ones and numerous bouts with illness, including injuries sustained from a serious auto accident and various forms of cancer.

She possessed a quiet determination and optimistic outlook on life that was inspirational. Health conscious long before it was in fashion, Katherine always ate nutritiously (servings of yellow and green vegetables were present at every meal) and exercised. She was an avid walker and could be seen briskly navigating the streets of Boston and Lewiston well into her nineties. Katherine was a loving and devoted aunt, sending weekly letters of support and frequent Mass cards to her nieces and nephews while they were away at college.

Katherine overcame life’s challenges through her faith, optimism, determination, joie de vivre, and family and friends. A keen observer of current events and a proud Democrat, Katherine voted in every election since 1932 (when she cast her fIrst vote for Franklin Roosevelt), and enjoyed various newspapers (esp. the Boston Globe and Lewiston Sun Journal) and newscasts each day. In recent years, she lived in Portland with her grandniece, Mary Norbert, and Mary’s loving care, along with that of her devoted niece, Joanne, and other family members and caregivers, gave her an outstanding quality of life and dignity and comfort in her fInal years.

Katherine is survived by her nieces, Joanne (Hall) Norbert of Falmouth and Margaret E. LaMontagne of Natick, Mass.; her nephew, Frederick A. Hall III and his wife, Charlene, of Lewiston; and numerous grandnephews and grandnieces of the Hall and Norbert families of Lewiston and Portland.

Online condolences and sharing of memories may be expressed at www.lynchbrothers.com.