Sister Éliane Goyette

« Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever.» Ps 113

March 5th, 2009, Sister Éliane Goyette,
her religious name, Sister M.-Marthe-du-Sauveur
 died at the age of 93.
She had been professed for 73 years.
Born in St-Maxime, Quebec, she was the third of seven children.
Her parents were Henri Goyette and Georgianna Beauchamp.

Sister Éliane taught grades three to six for 37 years, in the schools of the regions of the South Shore, Montréal and Valleyfield.  One of her former students said: “Sister Marthe was a calm person who cared for each one of us and prepared us well for the future. We were important to her and she planted in us the passion to succeed. “

She was a woman of peace, very quiet in nature, open and who never refused to share her time and pedagogical knowledge with her younger colleagues who were always made to feel welcomed.

Her second career was as a receptionist from 1972 to 2007. Sister Éliane was endowed with a great memory that helped foster her talents of welcoming others, of being discreet and at peace. She enriched the lives of many by her reserved, sisterly presence and personal warmth.

A bad fall led to her going to Maison Jésus-Marie, in Longueuil where she graciously and gratefully received the needed care. She stayed in contact with the sisters at Marie-Rose Durocher Residence and phoned the sisters on their birthdays, offering her best wishes and her prayers. Her great ease at acknowledging, with gratitude, the people around her, defined the kind of relationship she also had with the Lord:

“I lived by faith in Jesus Christ and by trust in Mary. I can never thank the Lord enough for having chosen me from among all others to live in close union with Him.”