PORTLAND — The Catholic Foundation of Maine has announced a new endowment created to honor a woman who touched the lives of countless people in need and to assist students who demonstrate a commitment to both academics and service.

The Laurianne Michaud Cormier Endowment will allow for an annual scholarship to be awarded to a Saint Dominic Academy student who excels in the classroom and is a volunteer at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston or another area health-care facility.

Cormier, who was a native of Lewiston, attended St. Peter’s Parochial School and graduated from Cours Supérieur, an upper school for girls, in 1928. Both of her daughters graduated from St. Dominic High School (now Saint Dominic Academy).

As a child, Cormier had dreamed of becoming a nurse, but the death of her father and the need to help support her family during the Great Depression required her to set aside that dream. In her retirement, however, she became a dedicated volunteer at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, accumulating nearly 20,000 hours of service over 35 years.

She was still attending to her duties at the hospital a short time before her death on June 23, 2015, just two weeks shy of her 103rd birthday. In recognition of her enormous contributions, Cormier was presented with the Mayoral Volunteer Inspire by Example Award in 2010 and named a Volunteer Hero by Maine’s First Lady Ann LePage at the Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism in 2012.

The Laurianne Michaud Cormier Endowment was created by her daughter, Louise Jean (Saint Dominic Academy Class of 1961), and Jean’s husband, Raymond Jean (Saint Dominic Academy Class of 1960), who live in both Scarborough and Marco Island, Florida.

The Catholic Foundation of Maine was established in 2003 to provide people with the opportunity to support and create lasting endowments that will enhance the work of the Catholic Church in Maine. The foundation manages the funds to ensure the long-term viability of the endowments so that the charitable wishes of the donors are carried out. The endowment funds benefit parishes, schools, seminarians, Catholic Charities Maine and many other ministries across the state.

FMI, donate, create endowment: 207-321-7820, [email protected], www.catholicfoundationmaine.org.