Agatha Dorothy Lapointe

Agatha D. Lapointe passed away surrounded by family on January 9, 2026 at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, VT. She was very much at peace knowing she would soon meet Jesus and be united with her beloved Robert. Born on February 6, 1932 in Burlington's French Canadian community of Lakeside, Agatha was the 11th child of Arthur and Emilia (Sicard) and the last remaining of all their 13 children. She remembered growing up poor, but never hungry, and credited her mother for instilling in her a deep sense of faith at a very young age.

As a child, she was educated at St. Anthony's Parish School, where she also first learned to speak English. Agatha left Vermont in 1949 to join the Sisters of Providence in Montreal, Quebec, where after profession she was assigned to the Saint Ignatius Province of Spokane, WA and earned her GED to begin her life as a servant to the poor. From there she was sent to Montana, her beloved "Big Sky Country", and earned her B.S. degree in Elementary Education at the College of Great Falls. She taught 1st and 2nd grade at St. Peter and Paul School, becoming Vice Principal in 1975, an early indication of her leadership abilities. After a year long Sabbatical in Saint Joseph College in Cincinnati, OH, where she completed a graduate study in Global Spirituality, she moved on to St.Matthew Parish in Dorchester, MA in 1979 as a Pastoral Minister with responsibility for outreach to Haitians and other newly arrived immigrants. It was during this time that she took two life changing trips to Haiti where she witnessed first hand the utter poverty and despair of the region, reigniting her passion to help the poor, oppressed and marginalized. It was during this time at St.Matthew's that she and Robert, an Archdiocesan priest at the time, met and worked together as a pastoral team serving this immigrant rich Dorchester neighborhood. Extending their witness outside the parish, they both became involved with a peace witnessing group working to bring attention to the manufacturing of nuclear weapons parts at a nearby facility. During this time they were both arrested for their peace making activities, fell in love, and were married in 1986 at Noon Day Farm, a community dedicated to peacemaking and growing food for urban soup kitchens and those in need.

Never one to walk away from controversy, Agatha led a life of resistance and resolve to help right the wrongs she so plainly saw. From protesting the Iraq War, nuclear power, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and more recently the record breaking No Kings protest in Burlington…her desire to keep on speaking "Truth to Power" as she so liked to say, never diminished.

Agatha was predeceased by her beloved husband, Robert Branconnier, in 2016 after 30 years of marriage; her parents Arthur and Emilia; and her siblings: Eli, David, William, Henry, Arthur, Muriel, Marguerite, Bernadette, Therese, Martha Trotter, Helen Benoit, and Bibianne McDowell. She leaves behind her adored adopted family, the Wegener's: Bob and Tara and their children Chiara (married to Alex), Joby ( engaged to Cindy), and Kate (married to Tyler). Other than her core group of family that were crucial in helping her maintain her independence (Mary Kim Lavery, Marsha Drake, Donna & Patrick Savage, Martha Cary, Kay Ellen WIllette, Gisele Torchia) she leaves behind far too many friends and family to mention. We thank all of you for your love and support throughout her lifetime.

The family would like to thank her main caregivers, Dr. Alicia Jacobs and Deborah Moyer, Cardiology ANP, for their years of caring and kindness as well as the wonderful caring staff at McClure Miller and her AgeWell volunteer Jennifer. We also send our heartfelt thanks to the Whitcomb Woods community, especially her nurse Jessilyn and neighbor Barb Grogard who were a huge help to the family right to the end.

To honor Agatha's memory, she would love for you to make a sign and join your local Indivisible.org protest. Monetary donations can be made in her name to Vermont's ACLU, Burlington's COTS organization, or the McClure Miller Respite House. A burial and ceremony will take place in the spring in Marlboro, MA. You may also join family at the Home Health & Hospice Remembrance ceremony on February 15, at 3:00pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 152 Pearl St. Burlington, VT.