Karen Marie Paquette (Williams) entered into eternal peace on April
2, 2024. Karen passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family and
friends, after a courageous three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Karen was born on
August 3, 1955, in Lindenhurst, Long Island, the daughter of Walter
Williams and Jeanne Virginia Remsen. Karen was the oldest of six
children and, later in life, three stepsiblings. She grew up on
Sherbrooke Road and made many close friends there, as well as through
Lindenhurst High School, where she graduated in 1973. Karen made her
initial journey to Vermont, a place she would call home for the next
49 years, in 1973, when she moved to Enosburg to live on a farm —
the true “Vermont Life.” She returned to Long Island in the mid
‘70s to help take care of her family after the death of her mother,
Jeanne, and worked with her father at Con Edison. In the late ‘70s
Karen made the final move back to Vermont and never looked back.
Shortly after
journeying to Vermont, she met the love of her life and husband,
Maurice (Moe) Paquette. They got married in Craftsbury on October 9,
1982, and celebrated each day over the next 42 years. Their journey
eventually took them to the New North End, where they spread their
roots throughout the Burlington community. Their family grew with the
birth of Rochelle (Shelly), followed by Maurice (Moe) Paquette II.
Their family would spend the next 31 years together, laughing, living
and loving.
Karen was dedicated
to her job and work family. She started at the University of Vermont
Medical Center (Fletcher Allen) on “Shep 3” in 1980, where she
worked as unit clerk. She would go on to dedicate nearly 40 years of
her life to working at UVM, the majority of those years as “payroll
Karen,” in the payroll office as a coordinator. While at UVM, she
made lifelong friends that meant the world to her and her family:
Maggie Hebert, Julie Turpin, Lucie Paquette, Darla Ayer, Vicki Pelkey
and Jamie Libby, as well as innumerable close friends she considered
family. She was months away from retirement when she was initially
diagnosed in 2021, truly a UVM “lifer.”
Karen was the proud
co-owner of Papa Frank’s Italian Restaurant, which she and Moe
purchased in 2004 from lifelong friends Frank and Gail Sciara. She
deeply loved and cared for all the employees and “Papa Frank’s
babies.” She was even prouder to be “Mima” to Clementine, who
brightened her days during the last 18 months of her life.
She is survived by
her husband, Moe; children, Shelly (Josh Shamoon) and Moe (Emily
Laughlin); granddaughter Clementine; sisters, Micki Martin (Randy)
and Chris Hotelling (Michael); sisters-in-law, Lucie Paquette and
Carol Myjak-Paquette (Bill); brothers-in-law, Mark Paquette (Penny)
and Keith Dunbar; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She is also
survived by parishioners of Saint Mark’s Church, where she was a
devout member, as well as the loyal patrons of Papa Frank’s.
Karen was
predeceased by her parents, Walter Williams, Jeanne Remsen and Jean
Carney; as well as her siblings, Robert Williams, Stephanie Dunbar
and Nancy Hespeler; and brother-in-law David Ugalde.
The Paquette family
would like to thank the Oncology Clinic at UVM, specifically Drs.
Anker and Greenblatt, as well as all the “chemo girls,” who made
Karen smile during the darkest days of treatment, and the hospice
team, who allowed Karen to spend her final days at home, surrounded
by family, friends and love.
From dad to mom: The
battle ended, but she won the fight. “I’d trade all of my
tomorrows for one single yesterday.” Kris Kristofferson
Calling hours will
be on Wednesday April 10, 2024, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the LaVigne Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 132 Main St., Winooski, VT. A
mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Thursday, April 11, at
1 p.m., at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 1251 North Ave., Burlington.
A reception will follow at the Elks Lodge, 925 North Ave.,
Burlington, VT 05408.
A celebration of
life will be held this summer in Craftsbury, Vt., to honor Karen.
Online condolences can be shared with the family at
vtfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the
Stephanie Dunbar Memorial Scholarship Fund, Craftsbury Town Clerk,
P.O. Box 55, Craftsbury, VT 05826.
This article appears in Apr 3-9, 2024.