Marlborough – Sister Claire Levesque, a Sister of St. Anne, known in religion as Sister Marie Georges Ernest, died at the age of 89 at Marie Esther Health Center Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. She was in the 70th year of vowed religious life.
She was a daughter of Ernest and Emma (Fontaine) Levesque of Central Falls, RI and one of four children. She graduated from High School in Lachine, PQ Canada and earned a BA degree from Anna Maria College in Paxton, a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Montreal, a teaching certification from the Department of Education in Ottawa, Ontario and Montessori Certification from the RAL Wentworth Association in London, England.
In 1943, she joined the Sisters of St. Anne in Lachine, Quebec, and pronounced vows in 1945. She spent the next 20-plus years as an educator in Canadian Schools staffed by the Sisters of St. Anne. She enjoyed teaching and remembers with special fondness her years in Kanawake and St. Regis Reserve village schools. She returned to the United States and continued her teaching career in schools staffed by the Sisters. She was a librarian in Rhode Island and then became a teacher in the former St. Anne Montessori School in Marlborough. In her retirement years, she dedicated herself to community service and this included as a receptionist for the Marie Esther Health Center.
Sister Claire was predeceased by her parents and three brothers. In addition to her religious community, she is mourned by her sister-in-law, Ann Levesque of New Hampshire, and nieces, nephews and friends.
Sister Claire will be waked at St. Anne Convent, 720 Boston Post Road E, Marlborough, Wednesday, Dec.16, from 2-4 p.m., with a prayer service at 4 p.m. The funeral will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m., in the Convent chapel.
Donations in Sister Claire’s memory can be made to the Sisters of St. Anne, 720 Boston Post Road East, Marlborough, MA 01752 or to a charity of your choice.
