Cecile A. Minnoch

Cecile A. Minnoch lived 41,673,600 minutes, give or take (dramatic pause) until she didn't... this is the obituary she jokingly said she wanted but here's the one she deserves.

She was born on December 9, 1945 with a deck of cards in her hands which started her competitive spirit. Whether playing backgammon or cribbage, she always played to win and didn't like losing.

One of the card games she enjoyed playing was 'pitch', much to the chagrin of everyone else. But her two favorite competitive nieces: LeAnne, who got top billing because she's alphabetically first, 39 days older, and won by throwing scissors to paper in rock, paper, scissors and Lisa, showed their love for her by actually suggesting they play it while on her death bed that brought a huge smile to her face and the words, "you must really love me" to her lips.

In all seriousness, she was married to the love of her life, James Minnoch, who finally relented to her pursuit, for a bunch of years (we're just not sure how long they were married, because they were together for as long as we can remember). They enjoyed sailing, traveling, and their camp in Steuben, Maine before she lost him to his own battle with cancer.

She is survived by her favorite brother, Bro. Marcel Brisson, SC and the other one, Roger H. Brisson, her aforementioned two favorite nieces as well as some other family members she'd like to mention and some she'd rather not. So to protect the guilty and the innocent, names will be withheld. They include a step-daughter and her three children, two nephews, three nieces, four grand nephews, two grand nieces, and a great grand niece. She is predeceased by her parents Antonio and Yvonne (Yergeau) Brisson, her brother, Gerard A. Brisson and his first-born daughter, Michele D. Brisson.

Honorable mention to Nancy, Judy, Stuart, Art, Hal, Joan, CJ, Colin, and Stan and June (who she acquired in the divorce from her first husband, Carl). Our sincere gratitude to everyone at Carlyle Place for the care, respect, and dignity they provided in Cecile's last month, especially Laura and Meredith who gave us comfort and humor at the right time. Additionally, to Hospice of Manchester for guiding us in her last moments. Our apologies if we missed anyone but you know who you are and how much you meant to her.

Oh yeah, she had a bunch of fantastic jobs from a court stenographer to any office work you can think of in real estate to property development to banking and anything else in between. One former employer was quoted as saying, "she was the first employee I hired and I could never find anyone like her. "

She was an amazing cook, baker, and adventurer. She will be missed beyond words but she'd like to believe she lived her best life showing kindness, giving rather than receiving, and win, win, winning. We love you AC!

Special note: Our sincere apologies for any grammatical errors we may have but please note the use of the Oxford comma (which just isn't used enough according to Cecile).

Services will be held on Saturday, March 15th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, with a memorial service beginning at 1:30 PM at Phaneuf Funeral Homes, 243 Hanover Street, Manchester NH. Per her wishes, her ashes will be scattered at sea this summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of the following: Hospice House (Merrimack), New Horizons (Manchester), Liberty House (Manchester), or if you'd prefer you can just have a mean game of Mexican Train and call it a day.

To view Cecile's online tribute, or send flowers or condolences to the family, visit https://www.phaneuf.net