Marie "Jeanne" Stelmach

Oxford: Marie "Jeanne" (Fournier) Stelmach, 95, formerly of Wheelock St., Oxford and Curfew Lane, Dudley; passed away on Sunday, January 5, 2025, in the Quaboag Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center, West Brookfield, after a brief period of declining health.
Jeanne was born in Millbury the daughter of the late Lucien J. and Imelda Olive (L'Homme) Fournier. She was also predeceased by her former husband, Raymond Stelmach; her three brothers, Normand, Lucien, and Gerard Fournier; her two sisters, Lucille Stelmach and Anne Levesque; and her daughter-in-law Jane (Deveney) Stelmach.
Jeanne leaves her seven children and their children; Nancy Smith of Montpelier, VT and her children, Kenneth, Michael, Ezekiel, and Jeremy Smith; Michael Stelmach and his wife Suzanne of Auburn/Webster and their children Ryan, Erin, Matthew, and Rachel (Matthew) Stelmach; Sylvester Stelmach of Leicester; Kelley LaVergne and her husband Thomas of Charlton and their children Thomas, Julie (Darling), and Em LaVergne; Barbara Zabka and her husband David of Dudley/Thompson, CT and their children Madison (LaPointe) and Aaron Zabka; David Stelmach of Charlton and his children Liam and Jizelle Stelmach; and John Stelmach of Grafton and his sons Jonathan and Mitchell Deveney and Mason Stelmach; her beloved great grandchildren; Colin, Stella, Blake, Ryder, Jameson, Andy, Darla, Benjamin, Henry, Elodie, and Hazel. She also leaves her brother George Fournier of California and several nieces and nephews.
Jeanne grew up in Southbridge, MA and attended Notre Dame High School where she sang in the school's choir. She worked in the accounts receivable department at American Optical Company for many years as a young woman before venturing to California where she met and married her husband Raymond who was from Webster, MA, and the nephew of her sister's husband. They eventually returned to the area to raise their family and Jeanne returned to her work at American Optical, retiring after 30 years of service.
Jeanne was a proud participant of the Notre Dame Festival of Giving Trees where she decorated and donated a tree every year for 20 years. She loved country music (especially George Strait whom she saw in concert on numerous occasions), playing cards, bingo and most importantly- her word puzzles. She also enjoyed spending time with her friends at the Oxford Senior Center. But most of all, she loved her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and all the time she got to spend with them. She repeatedly told her doctors and anyone who would listen how her children were her best medicine. Jeanne loved being the family photographer and could always be counted on to take tons of pictures at any event, taking thousands of pictures of her family through the years.
Jeanne's final years were spent at Quaboag Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center in Brookfield, MA, where she was a proud member of the "Chimers" performing group and resident bingo queen.
A funeral Mass for Jeanne will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 10:00am in Notre Dame Church of the St. John Paul II Parish, 446 Main St., Southbridge. Burial will be at a later date. There are no calling hours.
The family would like to thank all the staff and medical personnel at the Quaboag nursing home and Compassus Hospice for the excellent, authentic, kind, and caring service they provided to our mom. It meant the world to her and made a world of difference to us. With much appreciation, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Quaboag Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center Activities Department, 47 E. Main St., West Brookfield, MA 01585.
www.morrillfuneralhome.com