Jeanette Cecil Westover, 75, passed away in the comfort of her family at Woodridge Nursing Home in Berlin on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. Born in Burlington on August 28, 1941, she was the daughter of the late Donald A. and Edith I. (Desmarais) Despault. On October 17, 1959, she married Lawrence W. Westover Sr. in Waterbury. Lawrence predeceased Jeanette on February 23, 2007.
Jeanette was 1959 graduate of Waterbury High School. Following her marriage, she and Lawrence operated for over 17 years the Westover General Store in Middlesex. They later owned and operated for several years Meme and Papa’s Store in Riverton. Jeanette then went on to become a psychiatric technician and was employed at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury for several years and then worked 10 years for Washington County Mental Health from which she retired.
Jeanette is fondly remembered for her love of gardening, sewing, camping, boating, cooking and, most importantly, the time she shared caring for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jeanette was a longtime parishioner of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Waterbury.
Jeanette is loved and mourned by her children, Lisa Shephard and her husband Kris of Moretown, Gena Westover Grey and her husband Paul of Stratford, CT, Elaine B. Soucie and her husband Darrell of Ashford, CT, Lawrence W. Westover Jr. and his companion Darcy Coutts of Moretown, and Keith D. Westover and his companion Kat Fair of Calais; a stepdaughter, Carla Jo Summers of Maryville, TN; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; a sister, Claire Littlefield of Springhill, FL; her brother, Clement Despault and his wife Donna of Waterbury; a special friend, Laurie Nuissl of Berlin; as well nieces, nephews and extended family. Jeanette was predeceased by a brother, Adrian Despault.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated from St. Andrew Catholic Church in Waterbury on Monday, June 5, 2017, at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow in the church parish hall. Friends may call at Perkins-Parker Funeral Home in Waterbury on Sunday, June 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. Interment will take place in the Middlesex Center Cemetery. For those who wish, memorial gifts in lieu of flowers would be appreciated to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641 (www.cvhhh.org). To send online condolences please visit www.perkinsparker.com.
