Sister Paulette (Marie Antoine) Roy, 77

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MARLBOROUGH – Sister Paulette was born in Lac Megantic, Quebec, Canada, the second youngest of 10 children of loving faith-filled parents, Juliette and Leon Roy.  When Paulette was three, her family moved to Mexico, Maine.

She attended St. Theresa’s Elementary School and was taught by the Sisters of St. Chretienne.  In her early teens, she left home to attend the Juniorate program at St. Chretienne Academy in Salem. 

Paulette generously responded to God’s call to religious life and was accepted into the Sisters’ Novitiate in Giffard, Quebec.  She pronounced her first vows on February 15, 1966.

She was missioned to St. Chretienne Academy as a kitchen aide and cook. In 1971, she received a new call from community leadership to northern Alberta with the native people of the Cree nation.  For nine years, she cooked for her Sisters in the missions of John D’Or Prairie, Fox Lake and Trout Lake.  Paulette loved the people and the lifestyle—simple, close to nature, friendly—and was eager to learn about their spirituality. 

In 1980, she returned to Marlboro where she studied to become a CNA.  She cared for the senior Sisters in the infirmary for nine years.  God then called Sr. Paulette to another mission in Tampa, FL. at St. Joseph’s Women and Infants Hospital.  Beginning as a CNA, she then studied to be a Phlebotomy Technician.  She became known for her extraordinary ability to do blood draws from infants.  In recognition of her work, Sr. Paulette was given the Employee of the Year award.  She served there for 20 years.

In 2014, Paulette returned to Marlboro with a diagnosis of lymphoma.  She began a long and courageous struggle with treatments, never drawing attention to herself.  She helped her Sisters with driving, and was especially happy to be the chapel sacristan.  Paulette was very prayerful, humble, cheerful, and fun-loving.

In 2021, the Sisters relocated to Alliance Health at Marie Esther, still in Marlboro.  Paulette’s health was declining, and she recently was in hospice care.  She was loved by all, Sisters from the communities in residence and nursing personnel and staff.  She was at peace with her dying and waited patiently for God to take her home to be with her beloved parents and family. 

Paulette would want her thanks and our own to be expressed to the wonderful staff and nurses, both at Marie Esther and at our former residence at 197 Pleasant St.  She will be deeply missed by her Sisters in community and her family members: her sister Suzanne White, brothers Rene and Paul Roy, her nephews and nieces and their families.  Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her sisters Laurette Gammon, Germaine Fortier, and her brothers Raymond, Roger, Denis and Claude.

Arrangements by Collins Funeral Home in Marlborough

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