1915 – 2013

FREEPORT — Maria Lavoie Tardif, 97, formerly of Lewiston, passed away peacefully on Monday, Aug. 19, at the Freeport Rehabilitation & Nursing Center with her loving family by her side.

She was born in Auburn in October 1915, the daughter of Louis and Marie Laure (nee Tremblay) Poirier. She was educated at local schools, graduating from Lewiston High School in 1934 and went to work for a local dentist, Dr. Paul Smith. Maria married E. Armand Lavoie in 1939 and raised two sons and a daughter on Franklin Street in Lewiston.

Following her husband’s untimely death in 1964, she worked as a teller at a local bank. She also did volunteer work for many years at Russell Park Rehabilitation and Living Center. Maria was a wonderful mother to her children and was a stay-at-home mom until most of her children’s education was completed. While at home, she did the bookkeeping for her husband’s carpentry business.

Maria, Armand and the children always looked forward to the annual trips to Quebec City to visit her sister. She will always be remembered as quick-witted and fun to be with. In 1976, Maria married Dominique Tardif. Maria and “Dom” did much traveling in association with Rotary Club International, both domestic and abroad. They always looked forward to the summers at their camp in West Bath.

She also enjoyed playing cards and games on a regular basis with groups of friends and relatives. She moved from her Franklin Street home in 2007 to an assisted living facility, Sunnybrook Village, in Brunswick, before moving to the Freeport Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in 2010.

Maria is survived by her two sons and their spouses, Paul and Linda Lavoie of West Bath and Normand and Connie Lavoie of Bartlesville, Okla.; daughter, Estelle Lavoie of Portland; two grandchildren, Aimee Henderson (mother of Maria’s two great-grandchildren) of Broken Arrow, Okla., and Craig Lavoie of San Francisco, Calif.

In addition to her husband Dominique who died in 2003, she was predeceased by her four sisters, Adrienne Guilbault of Quebec City, Irma Plante of Waterville and Annette Cote and Alice Jean, both of Lewiston.

The family wishes to thank the staff at the Freeport Rehabilitation & Nursing Center for their loving care. Condolences may be accessed at the website www.albert-burpee.com.