Gabrielle B. "Gabby" Chicoine

1915 - 2013

EASTHAMPTON - Gabrielle B. (Dragon) Chicoine, in her 99th year, died Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, at the Loomis House in Holyoke.

A longtime resident of Easthampton, she worked many years for the town. She was born Feb. 1, 1915, in Hardwick, the seventh of 11 children born to Apolliniare and Alexina Dragon.

She attended a one-room schoolhouse in Hardwick and graduated from Easthampton High School, after her father moved the family to a new farm on Florence Road in Easthampton. She graduated from Northampton Commercial College during the depression, and was hired in 1935 by the Springfield office of President Roosevelt's Civil Service Works Progress Administration. During World War II, prior to her marriage to the late Henry W. Chicoine, she worked for the Cardanic Company that produced military aircraft parts, and later joined the U.S. Military Draft Board in Easthampton. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was hired to work on the town's War Price and Rationing Board, rationing gasoline, fuel oil and food. As a young woman, she joined both the Junior Women's Club and Grange of Easthampton and was active in the Cercle Notre Dame du Bon Conseil.

She made a home with her husband at the family farm on Oliver Street, raising five children, Eloise A. Briere of Albany, N.Y., William (Bill) H. Chicoine, the late Richard (Chick) E. Chicoine, both of Easthampton, Francis W. Chicoine of Franklin, N.C., and Alfred (Fred) J. Chicoine of Cummington. An enthusiastic cook, she loved making hearty meals for family and guests. Using her extensive collection of cookbooks as well as her knowledge of gardening, she led several 4-H cooking and gardening clubs, training youngsters in culinary and gardening basics while serving on the town's 4-H council, winning awards for her years of leadership. She loved being involved in the community and enjoyed a good party, whether it was the Cooperative Extension's Park Hill Homemakers' Club, which she often hosted at the farm, the Easthampton Historical Society, or the Loomis House, where she resided starting in 2002. A communicant of Notre Dame du Bon Conseil Church where she was married in 1944, she was a longtime member and officer of that church's Ladies of St. Anne Sodality. Returning to work in 1962, she was employed in the Easthampton High School's food service, and later joined the Board of Assessors, retiring from that position after 28 years of service, at the age of 78. Moving to a new home on Main Street, she loved to spend hours tending her flower gardens and took pride in her collection of angels which grew to 350 figurines for her namesake, Angel Gabriel.

She was predeceased by her husband Henry, her sister Almira Goulet, her brothers Omer, Oliva, Valbert, Armand, Roland, Emery, Godfrey, Gerard and Richard.

She leaves her four remaining children; 10 grandchildren, Caroline Briere of Albany, N.Y., Jodie Alaimo of Southampton, Corbin Chicoine, Elodie Sammarco and James Chicoine, all of Easthampton, Claire Chicoine of East Longmeadow, John Henry Chicoine of Exeter, N.H., Madeleine Chicoine of Homosasa, Fla., Louise Chicoine of Northampton, and Anthony Chicoine; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be Sunday, Dec. 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Boucher-O'Brien Funeral Home on Pleasant Street in Easthampton.

Her funeral will be Monday at 9:30 a.m. at the Boucher-O'Brien Funeral Home, followed with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. from the Our Lady of the Valley Church, 33 Adams Street, Easthampton, with burial in Mount Saint Carmel Cemetery in Ware.

Gabrielle loved flowers, but also appreciated the care given to her by Loomis House staff. Gabby would appreciate memorial gifts made in her name to the Activities Department at Loomis House, 298 Jarvis Street, Holyoke, MA 01040.

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