Anna Doucette

Anna Hebert Dumas Doucette, 101, passed peacefully in her sleep, Christmas Eve Day, 2022.

She was born in Fort Kent, Maine, the daughter of Hubald Hebert and Delima (Clavette) Hebert. Her childhood was spent on a potato farm. Anna graduated from Fort Kent Community High School and then attended Madawaska Training School in Fort Kent and later taught for three years at the Fort Kent Grammar School.

Anna married the love of her life, Fernand Reno Dumas, on June 3, 1944, in Biddeford, Maine. In 1954, they bought a home in Arundel to raise their children. Anna returned to teaching in 1956 at the Irving School in Arundel, a one-room schoolhouse without running water and with outhouse accommodations serving as bathrooms.

Reno was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1957, leaving Anna a widow with six children ages 2 to 12. Somehow, with her unshakable faith and persistent spirit, she managed to see her children grow and flourish into adulthood. In 1967, she married James Doucette and moved to Connecticut.

Anna loved teaching and continued to teach non-stop until her retirement in 1981. In Maine, she taught at the Arundel Consolidated School, the Washington Street School and the John F. Kennedy School, and in Hartford, the Vine Street School. In Biddeford, Anna also taught English as a second language to adults for several years. She was a life-long learner. On June 2, 1968, she was awarded her Bachelor degree from Gorham State College of Maine and on May 31, 1974, Anna was awarded her Master’s Degree from Central Connecticut State University.
Anna was a devout Catholic. She was proud to be a Eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church of East Hartford and she later attended St. Paul’s Church in Glastonbury.

She kept busy with knitting all her life and donated countless items to family, friends and especially to Native Americans on western reservations. In retirement, Anna assisted the elderly with preparation and filing of tax forms and was a frequent volunteer at the South End Community Center. She traveled after retirement to Alaska, Egypt, the Holy Land, the British Isles and Puerto Rico. Anna spent 10 years on family genealogy research to the delight of her children. She played the piano and loved to dance and listened to music even in the final week of her life. Anna also loved to walk and did so up until her last two months.

Anna is preceded in death by all the members of her family of origin. She is preceded in death by: her two husbands; son, Maurice; and grandson, Christopher. Anna is proudly survived by: her sons, Charles and wife, Diane of Ft. Myers, Florida, Conrad and wife, Ellen of Greenfield, New Hampshire, and Andre and wife, Kate of East Hartford, Connecticut; and daughters, Colette Walker and husband Robert of Frederick, Maryland, and Marie Scotella and husband Rocco, of Wheatridge, Colorado. In addition, she is survived by 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at D’Esopo East Hartford Memorial Chapel, 30 Carter St., East Hartford. On Saturday, Jan 14, 2023, a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 2577 Main St., Glastonbury. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, (Section R-2), Burnside Ave., East Hartford. To leave a message for the family, please visit www.desopoeh.com.