Juliette L. Lavergne

Juliette Louise Barriault LaVergne, 87, a loving mother of five, retired entertainer and broadcaster, devout Catholic, died early on July 5th after a sudden illness at her home in Hollis, New Hampshire. She was born in Nashua, NH, on October 8, 1927, the youngest of ten children born to Eugene Barriault and Jeanne (Deschenes) Barriault, both of them French-Canadian immigrants. She received her primary education at St. Francis Xavier Parish School in Nashua and secondary education at St. Louis de Gonzague Girls High School, also in Nashua. A lifelong learner, she began college studies in her late 50s and earned her B.A., high honors, in psychology and Spanish, from Rivier College, Nashua, in 1995. As a teenager during World War II, she began a professional singing career, broadcasting daily on the NBC Radio network. After the war, she met her husband, fellow entertainer Gene LaVergne, and they worked together on stage, television and radio, including broadcasting daily a popular variety and talk radio show on WFEA in Manchester, NH. She retired from WFEA in 1958 to raise five sons with her husband in Hollis, New Hampshire. A member of the Hollis Woman’s Club for over 50 years, she worked for the Hollis Times weekly newspaper in advertising sales and as a bookkeeper; and served St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Nashua as a catechist in the 1960s and in later years doing outreach to Spanish-speaking immigrants. A voracious reader of non-fiction books on politics, history and theology, she had a detailed knowledge of American history and Christian theology. She leaves behind a library of several thousand books and educational videotapes. Her last words as she slipped into unconsciousness were the words of the Lord’s Prayer in French. Her husband Gene, sons David and Adam, and all nine of her siblings predeceased her. She is survived by sons Joey LaVergne, Port Isabel, Texas; Mark LaVergne, New York City; Philip LaVergne, Hollis; and many loving nieces and nephews. Calling hours are on Wednesday, July 8th from 6:00-8:00 pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH 03055, 603-673-1422, www.smith-heald.com. Condolence notes on their website are welcomed. A Catholic Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, July 9th at 10:00am in St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, 34 Amherst Street, Milford, NH. Public burial will take place at approximately Noon on Thursday, July 9th, at St. Francis Xavier Church Cemetery, 32 Pine Hill Avenue, Nashua, NH 03064. In lieu of sending flowers, you may wish to purchase a Mass Card from a local Catholic parish or religious order and mail it along with your condolences to the family at 11 Ames Road, Hollis, NH 03049.