EILEEN ANNE GAGNÉ

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. — Eileen Anne Gagné, 94, passed away peacefully at her retirement home in Pawleys Island, S.C., on Dec. 3, 2025. Eileen and her late husband Clement Gagné lived in the Middlebury area for 43 years, from 1952-95.

Eileen was born on Nov. 30, 1931, in Philadelphia, Pa., to Augustine G. O’Rourke and Helen Burgmann O’Rourke. She grew up in a close-knit community of Irish Catholics and was educated at Ascension of Our Lord School and Little Flower High School.

She married Clement Gagné of Adams, Mass., on July 28, 1951, and they moved to Middlebury, where Clement established an optometric practice. Eileen was active in the church and community, serving as a member of the St. Mary’s Parish Council and the Porter Hospital Auxiliary; as a Guardian ad Litem in the Vermont Family Court; and on the Executive Committee of the Lund Family Center.

Clement and Eileen retired to Surfside Beach, S.C., in 1995. They lived in the Ashton Glen community for 18 years, then in Murrells Inlet. After Clement’s death in 2018, Eileen moved to the retirement community Lakes at Litchfield in Pawleys Island. While in South Carolina, Eileen volunteered at Surfside Library, was a member of the Rock’n’Ettes, and sang with the Coastal Choral and the Serendipity Singers.

Nothing gave Eileen more pleasure than spending time with her children and their families, particularly at reunions and wedding celebrations. She was always at the ready with encouragement and kindness.

Eileen is survived by six children: Lisa Jordan (Carl) of Houston, Texas; Kim (Nussy) of London, UK; Craig (Phyllis) of Athens, Ga.; Christopher (Sue) of Longmeadow, Mass.; Colin of McMinnville, Ore.; and Mark (Nancy) of Williston, Vt. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, as well as two brothers-in-law, William J Greilich Jr. of Exeter, N.H., and Robert P. Gagné of Sonora, Mexico, and their families. She was pre-deceased by a daughter-in-law, Suzy Unruh Gagné of Oregon, and a grandson, Garrett Mather Gagné of Longmeadow, Mass.

The family is grateful to Lower Cape Fear Life Care hospice services and to the caregivers from Live Long Well Care.

Memorials in Eileen’s name may be made to the Garrett M. Gagné Memorial Scholarship Fund at St. Lawrence University, 23 Romoda Drive, Canton, NY 13617, or to the Lund Family Center, PO Box 4009, Burlington, VT 05406.

Services are planned for the spring at St. Mary’s Church in Middlebury. ◊