Louise Marie Gervais

Louise M Gervais passed away at her home on October 22, 2025, at the age of 91. She was the daughter of Louis E Brochu and Yvette (Martineau) Brochu and was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on March 28, 1934. Shortly after her birth the family moved back to Lewiston where her parents had a dairy farm on the Crowley Rd. Mom had many happy memories of her early life on the farm and attending a one room schoolhouse in Webster. Just before WWII started her parents sold the farm and became the Superintendent and Matron of the Lewiston City Farm. Growing up in that environment had many challenges but also happiness. The family bought land at Edgewater Colony in South Harpswell and her father built a cottage they called the Brochu Sunset for its amazing sunset views over Middle Bay. The cottage became a very special place for several generations of the family and friends.

Louise attended St Peter’s School and graduated from St Dominic High School in 1952.She was a lifelong Catholic and a member of Prince of Peace Parish. In her later years she watched mass on-line and was devoted to her rosary. She was thankful for her friend Sue Veilleux who brought her Communion every Sunday.

After high school. Louise attended a laboratory Tech program in Boston and worked in local hospitals. On July 28, 1956, she married Joseph AE Gervais and they moved to Chicago, where he completed his accounting studies and worked as a CPA. Their first two children were born while they were in Chicago. They moved back to Lewiston in 1960 and Louise became a stay-at-home mom. Four more children were born in Lewiston in the following years. She made a great home for her family. Joe passed away May 24, 1997.

With six children who all had a wide variety of interests Louise somehow found time to attend all their sports events, dance recitals, band concerts, and PTA meetings. She was famous for the pumpkin bread she made for dozens of bake sales and was a very involved school volunteer. She was one of the founding parents of the Farwell School Pumpkin Sale which continues to this day.

Her organizational skills were put to test when she became a volunteer for MPBN’s Great TV Auction. Over the years she did a variety of jobs and the last few years of auction she maintained a warehouse which held thousands of items, all carefully stored. If there wasn’t a system in place for a task, she created one. At MPBN, Louise made some of her closest friends. The four of them cruised the British Isles, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. In addition to volunteering she attended Senior College in Portland and later in Lewiston when that program opened up. In her later years she became the voice of the AARP Tax Aide appointment line, talking to hundreds of people and scheduling their tax appointments. When she could no longer do the job, it took 3 people to replace her.

She was predeceased by her parents Louis and Yvette Brochu, husband, Joseph AE Gervais and a brother, Thomas R Brochu.

She is survived by her sisters, Gloria (Robert) Limoges and Carmen (Gary) Goecke. Her six children Judy, “Top Dollar” Dave, John (Sue Grondin), Louis (Greg Williams), Mary and Joe (Linda) Gervais. And her five grandchildren, Andrew McClees, Connor, Ty, Owen and Eliza Gervais.

We are thankful to our sister Mary for her devoted care to Mom at her end of life, to Andrew for his weekly visits and to Judy for keeping the whole enterprise running as smoothly as possible.