On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, Constance M. Paine, known to most as “Connie” embarked on her final journey in this life. She went peacefully on her way, surrounded by the love of her family and the caring support of the staff of the Westwood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Keene. Though her adventures had been fewer over the past several years, she found the opportunity to interact with her family and those closest to her, and made the most of every moment.
Her journey began September 26, 1923, in Keene, NH. She was welcomed by her parents Ernest and Lucie (Gagnet) Bourque at the Elliot Community Hospital, where she would later welcome her children into the world. Growing-up in the “Roaring Twenties” gave her the ambition and spunk that she would need to grow into the incredibly strong woman that she became. She was a 1941 graduate of Keene High School and then decided she would go to Washington DC to work for the government, during the summer of 1944. Though her time there was short, she learned a great deal about who she was as a young woman and thus set into place a pattern for the rest of her path. On April 19th 1947, she married the love of her life, Gilbert Paine. The couple shared many adventures together and shared memories that spanned over six decades.
For many years she worked for Peerless Insurance Company in Keene. After retiring in 1985, she was able to focus on one of her greatest passions, travel. Her journeys took her to Hawaii, Old Orchard Beach and to the “Wonderful World of Disney”. Her travel companion was traditionally her son Ron, with whom she shared many adventures. She was also very active in the community in which she lived. She was a member of the Parish of the Holy Spirit and was a communicant at St. Bernard Church in Keene. She was also an active member of the Keene Senor Center and was a part of the “Oldies But Goodies”, a group of singers. She loved to watch classic musicals and listen to the music of her day, big band. The values that she taught her children and those that were closest to her are reflected in the following quote by one of her favorite actors, Fred Rogers: “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
Connie’s home was almost always filled with the aroma of her homemade foods which she loved to put together for family gatherings. One of the family’s favorite was her Yankee Pot Roast, which was always cooked perfectly. Having her home filled with those she loved was one of her greatest accomplishments. Her compassion was not only spread to human companionship, but also to those of the many cats which warmed her home and heart, especially her beloved Mitsy. When she wasn’t busy with events at the Senor Center or going on a trip with her family, she enjoyed playing a variety of trivia games such as Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Scrabble. She was known by her family as the “Queen of Scrabble”.
Connie leaves her daughter, Sheila Hartwell and her husband, Roger, of Lady Lake, FL; her sons, Christopher Paine and his wife, Patricia, of Lowell, NC and Ronald Paine and his partner Ralph, of Keene; three grandchildren, Trisha Gagnon and her husband, Steven, Kimberly Koch and her husband, David, and Carmen Brantley and her husband, Jamie; seven great-grandchildren, Aiden, Avery, Adam, Kyle, Dylan, Grayson and Saylor; and several nieces, nephews and extended family members. She is predeceased by the “love of her life”, Gilbert Paine; her sister, Jeanne Duquette and her husband, Donald; her sister-in-law, Evelyn Klimek; and brothers-in-law; Robert and Raymond Paine.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the St. Bernard Church, 185 Main St. Keene, NH on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 11AM. Burial will follow in the Monadnock View Cemetery, Park Ave, Keene. Family and friends are invited to gather for a time to celebrate Connie’s life at the Foley Funeral Home, 49 Court St. Keene, NH on Sunday, May 20, 2018 between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00PM.
It is the hope of Connie’s family that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Road, Swanzey, NH 03446, so that the work that they do to help animals find their forever families might continue for years to come.
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