Calling hours are scheduled at the Fox and Murray Funeral Home for Thursday from 5-7 p.m. and Friday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Burial is scheduled to follow the funeral mass at St. Mary’s Cemetery where she will be laid to rest next to her husband, Fernand ‘Pete’ St. Pierre, who predeceased her in March of 2020. Mrs. St. Pierre passed away peacefully at her home in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 23, surrounded by family.
Surviving her are six children; Jacques (Tammy Pearson Rice) St. Pierre of Florida, Diane St. Pierre of Massachusetts, Alain (Mari Pirie) St. Pierre of Ogdensburg, Carol (Dan) Curry of South Carolina, Danny (Kate Sansoucy) St. Pierre of Ogdensburg and Rene St. Pierre of Ogdensburg; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren along with hundreds of cousins, nieces and nephews scattered throughout Quebec, Canada, and the United States.
She is also survived by siblings; Fernande (Audet) Martel, Andre Audet, Jacqueline (Audet) Dubuc, Yvon Audet and Jocelyn Audet, all of Quebec.
Along with her husband of 64 years, she was predeceased by siblings Soeur Clemence Audet, Jeanne Mance (Audet) Gendron, Germain Audet, Jean-Rene Audet, Francoise Audet and Monique (Rivard) Audet.
Clairienne (not a vegetarian, as she would often joke to people struggling to pronounce her name during a first acquaintance), was born February 22, 1934 in the small Quebec village of Notre Dame du Bon Conseil, located halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. She was the daughter of J. Amedee Audet and Marie Laure deGrandpre and one of 12 children to make it to adulthood.
Growing up in a large family during the tough economic times following the Great Depression of the late 1920’s, Claire learned at a very young age how to make the most of what was available. She helped operate the switchboard for the local telephone company from the comforts of the family home and developed the cooking, canning, knitting and sewing skills that would become a hallmark of her life as a homemaker.
Claire graduated from local schools and went on to earn her teaching certification from the Saint-Hyacinthe Secondary School. On July 4, 1955, she married Fernand E. St. Pierre at Notre Dame Church in her hometown where they resided for several years before moving to nearby Drummondville.
In August of 1963, the couple and their three young children moved to the United States where they made their home in Crown Point, New York, for several years before moving to Ogdensburg in the mid-1960’s and eventually settling down on a family dairy farm on the Heuvelton Road ‘just before the big curve’ in 1969.
Following the sale of the family farm in 1996, Pete and Claire moved to a home on the Delaney Road where Sunday lunches for family and friends became a staple for decades and she gained the reputation for being ‘Memere’ to an ever growing extended family.
Along with maintaining and managing a home throughout her life, Memere filled her later years with caring for her beloved grandchildren, creating a wide range of clothing items (including her locally renown Memere Mittens and Socks), raising and canning fresh vegetables from a large garden (anything less than 100 mason jars of tomatoes was a bad year), and maintaining close ties with her French-Canadian roots in Quebec.
Following the burial on Friday, a reception is planned at Picken’s Hall in Heuvelton. Memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of St. Lawrence County. Condolences and fond memories can also be shared at www.foxandmurrayfuneralhome.com.
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