The Portsmouth Garden Club
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Memorials: Remembering those who have passed
The friendship and hard work of our recently deceased members are sorely missed.
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Obituary for Lillian Margaret Cerce
She was born in Fall River on April 23, 1927, to Joseph and Mabel(Wall)Read. She was the last of 10 children and grew up in the north end, graduating from BMC Durfee High School. She was the wife of the late George A. Cerce and they settled in the Bristol Ferry area of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where they built a home.
Together with George she was an active member of the Tiverton Yacht Club for many years. She was also a member and past president of the Portsmouth Garden Club. Before moving to Florida, in 1980, she and George owned and operated the Tiverton Boathouse. In Naples, she and George were active members of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church where she was a member of the CCW.
She leaves many nieces, nephews and friends in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts area.
Graveside services will be held on Tuesday Sept. 4, 2018, at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Fall River, at 11:00 0’clock with Father Robert Murphy.
Madeline Beaucage
She grew up on a farm in rural Maine. She moved to Springfield, Massachusetts before a move to Portsmouth in 1969. Madeline worked in retail for many years before beginning Cat's Home Companion, one of the first businesses of its kind providing in-home cat care.
She was an award-winning gardener and floral arranger as well as an avid photographer. She was passionate about cats, gardening, and her community.
Included in her many contributions to the community, Madeline was past President of the Portsmouth Garden Club and Chapter 869 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) as well as being an active member of the Portsmouth Historical Society, and, in the 1970s, the Portsmouth High School Band Boosters. Madeline took a leadership role in the early efforts to restore the Brown House at the Glen in Portsmouth.
Madeline is survived by her son, Gregory Beaucage, of Cincinnati, Ohio, his wife, Jean, and their three children; her son-in-law, Richard Bushey of Weymouth, Massachusetts; her daughter-in-law, Lee; nieces and nephews. She also leaves many cherished friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Robert; her son, Ronald; her daughter, Cheryl Bushey; her brothers, Garfield and Elmer (Bud) Goding; and sisters Vera Pickle, Flora Bragdon, Evelyn Wyman, and Mary Kyes; her cousin, Lin Pickle, and other treasured friends and relatives.
A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 14th, with visitation at 10:00 a.m. in the narthex at St. Anthony Church in Portsmouth. Burial will follow at Trinity Cemetery.
Published in Newport Daily News on Aug. 10, 2018
Kathie, a daughter of the late Harold and Kathleen (Corcoran) Burtt, was a dedicated teacher for 34 years within the Bellingham School System while residing in Franklin, MA. Later, she and her family moved to Portsmouth, RI where she and her husband continued to reside during the summer while wintering in Ft. Myers, FL.
Kathie was a member of St. Barnabas Church in Portsmouth, RI and of St. Columbkille Church in Ft. Myers, FL. She supported and was actively involved in each of these parishes’ community programs. Kathie was a very sharing person and very humble about her donations to several charities close to her heart. Her caring spirit inspired her to donate much of her personal time to various charitable and community organizations. Kathie sponsored children for over 40 years through the Save the Children Program, staffed the St. Barnabas Food Kitchen and Annual Picnic, was a member of the Portsmouth Garden Club, volunteered her talent and expertise at the Newport Flower Show at Rosecliff, Newport RI. She was also an integral part of the Garden Cove Residence Association and staffed the St. Columbkille Church Thrift Store in Fort Myers, FL, donated to and served as a volunteer for the Michael’s Fund Annual Golf Tournament and was a life-long supporter of Toys for Tots.
In addition to her husband, Kathie is survived by her beloved daughters Sarah Elizabeth Roderiques and her husband Jason of Tiverton, RI and Anna Jane Kocon and her husband Bradley Fesmire of Portsmouth, RI, her cherished grandchildren Joshua and Sophia Roderiques of Tiverton, RI, brother John Burtt of Whitman, MA, sister Mary Pat Burtt-Henderson and her husband David of Whitman, MA, two nephews Philip Burtt-Henderson
of San Diego, CA and Patrick Burtt-Henderson of Brockton, MA and a niece Lily Burtt-Henderson. Kathie is predeceased by her twin sons at their birth (1977), William Harold and Jeremy Burtt Kocon and her brother Charles Burtt. She also leaves extended family and many friends in RI, MA and FL.
Calling hours are Thursday, October 12, 2017 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am at Connors Funeral Home, 55 West Main Road, Portsmouth, RI. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 am in St. Barnabas Church, 1697 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI. Interment to follow at Notre Dame Cemetery, Fall River, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Kathie’s memory may be sent to Save the Children, 501 Kings Hwy E - Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825 or on line at www.savethechildren.org.
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Olivia R. Marcoux, 92 passed away on June 26,2017 in Seattle, WA. Olivia was born in Fall River, MA on January 9, 1925 to the late Catherine and Manuel Rocha. She lived in Portsmouth, RI for forty years with her husband, Norman R. Marcoux (d. 2013) before health issues forced them to relocate to Seattle. Norman’s career as a mathematics teacher at the Portsmouth Abbey School provided her with opportunities to participate in a number of the School’s social events including pouring at the High Teas that were held for all visitors at the conclusion of home football games.
Following her graduation from Durfee High School, she worked as a sales associate for Lake Jewelers in Fall River until the birth of her first daughter, Catherine. Within two years, she was blessed with the birth of her second daughter, Elizabeth and spent many years as a devoted homemaker and active volunteer.
Olivia joined the Portsmouth Garden Club in 1965, served as their longest-term Treasurer with a forty-year tenure, and was appointed an Honorary Member in 2001. She was a member of the Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs and served as their Treasurer for a two year period in the early 1980s. Olivia was a longtime member of the Friends of Saint Anne’s Hospital and served on the Committee to organize the annual Candlelight Ball. She was a weekly volunteer in the Hospital gift shop and a member of the Bowling League for many years. A fortuitous employment opportunity with the Preservation Society of Newport began in 1974 at the Green Animals Topiary Garden which was located across the street from her Cory’s Lane home and continued to Norman’s retirement in 1991. Her passions included reading, dancing, gardens (as long as she did not have to weed them), playing Samba with relatives and Bridge with friends made through the Portsmouth Garden Club, and sightseeing. Drives along the ocean either in Newport or Seattle were favorite destinations especially when they ended with a stop for an ice cream cone.
She is survived by her two daughters: Catherine and her husband, Lloyd Dodwell of Ramsey, NJ and Elizabeth Marcoux and her husband, David Rudig of Seattle, WA. She is also survived by two granddaughters, Jennifer Dodwell Fung and her husband, Dr. Jerome Fung of Waltham, MA and Emily Dodwell of Jersey City, NJ.
A Mass of Christian burial will take place at the Church of St. Gregory the Great, Portsmouth Abbey School, Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI on Saturday, July 22 at 10:30 a.m. Following the Mass, burial will take place alongside her husband at the Portsmouth Abbey Cemetery. As a tribute, memorial donations to Providence Hospice of Seattle (2811 S. 102nd St., Suite #220, Tukwila, WA 98168) or the Norman R. Marcoux Book Fund to benefit the St. Thomas More Library at Portsmouth Abbey School would be appreciated. Contributions to the book fund can be sent to the attention of Matthew Walter, Portsmouth Abbey School, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI 02871.
The Marcoux family is in the care of the Memorial Funeral Homes of Newport.
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