Jeannette Rioux passed away October 17, 2021 at the age of 98. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on October 22, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Rose and Eugene Frenette. She was pre-deceased by her husband Arthur P. Rioux and brother Raymond Frenette.
Jeannette is survived by her son Peter Rioux and his wife Jane of New Bedford; her daughter Jeanne Plourde of New Bedford; her daughter Susan Lincoln and her husband Cliff of N. Dartmouth; and her daughter Christine of Wakefield. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.
She loved spending time with her family, dancing and listening to big band music and Tony Bennett, staying beautifully coiffed, reading, and tracking storms on the weather channel.
She worked at Aerovox Corp for several years in the late 1930’s to early 1940’s.
In 1944, she married Arthur P. Rioux, a young man from the neighborhood who captured her heart on the dance floor at Lincoln Park ballroom. Following a wartime correspondence, with love and a spirit of adventure, she embarked on a solo journey of over 2000 miles by train from New Bedford to Laredo, Texas to meet Arthur at Army Air officer training school. They were wed in a small chapel in Laredo with two witnesses and a chaplain in attendance.
They began their life together in New Bedford in 1946 at the end of the war and raised four children.
Following the passing of her husband in 1984 she went on to live 37 more years, independently until the age of 97, a testament to her strength, resilience, devotion to family, and pure will to live.
During this time she worked for several years in the distribution department of Standard Times. She worked the line among old friends, made new friends, shared camaraderie and homemade coffee cakes at break time. She worked to help form a labor union, distributing flyers, making calls and showing her passion for causes outside of family-life.
Despite the family’s modest means she wove meals exquisite in both taste and creativity. Her signature recipes were French meat pie, gorton, maple cake and chocolate squares devoured by her grandsons before Thanksgiving dinner was on the table.
She followed politics with a zeal passed along to all her children, especially her son, Peter. Like a WW II code-cracker she could decrypt the arcane directions of any knitting or crocheting project, then improvise her own intricate patterns, a skill passed along to her eldest daughter, Jeanne. She sewed children’s clothes with an impeccable eye for detail and a flair passed along to her middle daughter, Sue. She was a wiz at crossword puzzles, and would slay the Reader’s Digest word power challenge with her rich vocabulary as recently as this summer. Her youngest daughter, Christine, dreams of such a talent.
She endured life’s challenges and sorrows yet was sustained for nearly 10 decades by the joy of witnessing and encouraging the unique paths and talents of her children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She will live in our hearts and actions forever.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Rock Funeral home, 1285 Ashley Blvd., New Bedford on November 6, 2021. Visitation will be held from 8:30 - 9:30 AM followed by a service at 9:30 AM. Burial at Sacred Heart Cemetery will follow the service. Due to the ongoing pandemic, face masks will be required for all those attending. In remembrance of Jeannette, please consider making a donation to your chosen charity.
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