Alice Marie Ann Boutin H’13
Alice Marie Ann Boutin H’13, Rochester, NH, died April 12, 2024. Alice was the wife of Bernard Boutin ’45, H’63, the first lay president of Saint Michael’s College from 1969 to 1974. Alice had several other relatives who also were alumni, among them five of her eleven children plus several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Alice died in the loving care of her two daughters, Suzanne Boutin and Elizabeth McGrath DNP, and her husband, John McGrath, in Rochester, NH, where she lived the remaining three years of life. Alice’s family was with her the week before she died.
Alice was born in 1925, the daughter of William and Celanaire (Blais) Boucher of Laconia, NH, where she grew up in a strong and loving family. There she learned about unconditional love, the foundation of her being throughout her life. The ninth of ten children, she was educated at École du Sacré-Cœur and Laconia High School.
She met Bernard (Bernie) while he was a student at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. They married soon after his graduation in April of 1945. What followed was a 67-year love affair producing eleven children. Her family was her greatest joy, and she also somehow found the time for her volunteer work as a Cub Scout leader, costume maker for stunt night at Rice Memorial High School, and all those hours dedicated to the craft committees at Sacred Heart (Laconia), St. Charles (Meredith), and St. Joseph’s (Belmont), where she made rosaries).
Faith was the cornerstone of Alice’s life. Until she was in her mid-90’s, she never missed Sunday Mass. While Bernie was alive, they made annual pilgrimages to the St. Anne de Beaupre shrine.
All 10 of Alice’s homes seemed to grow and change as the family grew and left to start new lives, creating 46 progenies plus, as Bernie was fond of saying, “one in the oven,: Words can’t express the pride she had in all their accomplishments.
Alice was formally recognized for her gift to humanity when she was honored by Saint Michael’s College in 2013with an honorary degree in the twilight of her life.
Bernie died in 2011, followed a year later by their youngest son Bernard II’s sudden death. Those two events took their toll on her. She persevered thanks to her Catholic faith and the support of her family, particularly her daughter Michelle and husband Dennis Lamper, who cared for her until she moved into a continuing care facility, Meredith Bay Colony Club, in 2017. The death of her oldest son, Edmund Boutin ’68, from a heart attack and a stroke during the late stages of the COVID were devastating. Daughters Suzanne and Elizabeth immediately took Alice under their wing and brought her to Rochester, where she stayed until her death.
Three sons predeceased her, as did all nine of her brothers and sisters. Alice is survived by three sons, including former Saint Michel’s College Trustee Joseph Boutin ’69 and John Boutin ’79, five daughters including Marie Boutin ’73, and Suzanne Boutin ’81; and extended family including grandchildren Anne Boutin ’93, Jonathan Boutin ’94, Angela (Scarpone) King ’03, Robert Boutin P’18 and Renee (Boutin) Johnson P ’24, plus great-grandsons Mackenzie “Mack” Boutin ’18 and Ryan Johnson ’24, along with in-laws Bruce Fischer ’72 and Linda-Anne Boutin’81.
For those who wish, the family suggests that memorial donations be made in Alice’s name to the Boutin Family Scholarship Fund at Saint Michael College https://engage.smcvt.edu/give