Helene E Arsenault

Helene was born on December 20, 1930, in her parents’ home in Sanford, Maine. She was the youngest of 12 children born to Ernest and Lydia (Rouleau) Tanguay. During her elementary school years in Sanford, she attended bilingual classes taught in both French and English. A 1948 graduate of St. Ignatius High School, Helene went on to attend the Notre Dame de Lourdes School of Nursing in Manchester, New Hampshire where instruction was also in French. Upon graduation in 1951, she received the Florence Nightingale Award.

Helene briefly worked as the night supervisor at Henrietta D. Goodall Hospital in Sanford before enrolling in the anesthesia program at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the sole graduate of her class in 1953 and was subsequently employed as an anesthetist for many years at Burbank Hospital in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

In 1978, Helene and her family relocated to Florida. She continued her nursing career as an IV therapist at North Broward Hospital in Pompano Beach and Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where she was honored as Nurse of the Year.

Helene was predeceased by her beloved husband of 62 years, John Roger Arsenault; her parents; all of her siblings—Gerard Tanguay, Aime Tanguay, Olive (Donat) Bergeron, Gerard Tanguay, Cecile (Jack) Therrien, Alma (Emilien) Luneau, Lillian (Roland) Perreault, Rita (Wilbert) Demers, Lionel (Theresa) Tanguay, Leon (Irene) Tanguay and Therese Beauchesne—as well as her in-laws.

She is survived by her daughter, Gisele Arsenault Brown of Metairie, Louisiana; her son, Gerry Arsenault, and his partner Linda Whitman, of Deerfield Beach, Florida; her grandchildren, Gabrielle Watkins (Timothy) of Petal, Mississippi; Christian Brown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and Austin Westmorland of Austin, Texas. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Taylor and Landon Watkins, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Helene was an extraordinary woman—a devoted wife, loving mother, proud grandmother and great-grandmother, and a compassionate nurse. She cherished Friday morning sunrises at the beach with her son, the joy of a festively decorated home during Christmas, watching movies, golf and the Food Network. Her love for others, vibrant sense of humor and unwavering faith were the essence of who she was.

The family wishes to thank her dear friend Franki Klemyk, for her support and care in Helene’s later years, as well as Catholic Hospice, her doctors at Holy Cross Health—especially Dr Josh Larned—and Frances Amortegui and Helen Visco at the Catherine Yardley Comprehensive Pulmonary Center.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday April 25 at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel of St Ambrose Catholic Church, 380 Federal Highway, Deerfield Beach, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the COPD Foundation, https://www.copdfoundation.org/Ways-to-Give/Donate/Tribute-Giving.aspx

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