Annette Bilodeau Willett, mother of seven, daughter of Victor and Irene Gosselin, and sibling to Emile, Alice, Norman, Bernadette, Cecile, and William; died peacefully on the morning of August 31, 2023, at the age of eighty-eight from natural causes.
Born and raised in Attleboro, MA, Annette earned her nursing degree from St. Elizabeth’s Nursing School in Boston. After graduation, she met and married Maurice Bilodeau, and embarked on her true calling, becoming a mother. They had seven children over twelve years: Peter Bilodeau, Irene Bilodeau, Michael Bilodeau, Caroline Allen, Anne Bilodeau Colwell, Andre Bilodeau and Mark Bilodeau. She always credited St. Elizabeth’s as the genesis of this motherly realization, joyfully recalling her time at the maternity ward holding newborn babies. Annette was a loving mother, dedicated wife, and skilled homemaker. For the next thirty-five years she would provide a nurturing environment for her family to thrive.
When Maurice passed away in 1993, Annette reinvented herself. She renewed her nursing credentials and re-entered the work force, eventually caring for the students at the Riverview School in Sandwich, MA—a position she would often call a “labor of love.” It was during this time she met Ron Willett, the second love of her life. Meeting at Catholic Mass, a passion for them both, their whirlwind romance would culminate in eleven years of marriage and travel around the world.
After Ron passed away in 2009, Annette was adamant she would continue to be happy and enjoy each day, for as long as she could. She loved visits from her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She also loved playing Scrabble, a good glass of wine, and walking on the canal.
In late June, a quick and painless decline followed. She evolved, yet again. Released from the banality of daily life, she became a kind of joy incarnate. Light as a feather. Smiling all the time. She would recall stories with amazing clarity from scores of years earlier.
She celebrated her last birthday with family in Hospice care. And in her last weeks, she often expressed how truly satisfied she was with her life and how at peace she was with her death. May she be a shining example of life—and its beauties—to all who knew her.
She is survived her seven children, sixteen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and by her siblings Bernadette, Cecile, and William.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to the wonderful and caring staff at the Pat Roche Hospice Home in Hingham, MA for their compassionate care during the last six weeks of her life. Donations, in her remembrance, can be made to Pat Roche Hospice Home, 86 Turkey Hill Lane, Hingham, MA 02043.
There will be a wake at Nickerson-Bourne Funeral home on Route 6A in Sandwich, MA from 9 a.m. to 11a.m. on Monday, September 11th, followed by a Mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church at 11:30 a.m. and a funeral prayer service and burial at The National Cemetery in Bourne at 1:30 p.m.
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