Cecile E. Demers
October 28, 1928 – September 12, 2026
WESTFIELD – Cecile E. Demers died at home on September 12th, surrounded by people she loved and who loved her. She is survived by her children, Colette Sheehan (Michael), Donald Gauthier, Jr. (Carol), Gisele Gauthier (Peter Bennett), Jean-Paul Gauthier (Loretta) and Ariane McMahan (Christian). She has five children, fourteen grandchildren and sixteen (so far) great-grandchildren. She is adored and revered by all of them.
Cecile was born in Manchester, NH on October 28th, 1928, to Diana (Rivard) and Wilfred Demers. Born into a French-Canadian immigrant family during the Great Depression, she was the fifth of six children and the third daughter. She was a force to be reckoned with from the beginning. She was smart and beautiful.
Education was always important to her. She paid her own way to the best high school in town. Upon graduation she entered the workforce as she was not allowed to go to college because she was a girl. She successfully pursued a career working at Chicopee Mills in Manchester, NH. She was named Beta Sigma Phi Sorority’s Girl of the year in 1954, an international non-collegiate sorority.
Cecile met the love of her life, Donald Gauthier, while she was pursuing her career aspirations and he was in medical school. They married in 1955 and had four kids in five years: Colette, Donald Jr., Gisele and Jean-Paul. Much to everyone’s surprise and delight, Ariane was born in 1969. Cecile organized her family to be active in the church and in the community. Her extraordinary organizational and leadership skills showed up everywhere. She was a regional leader of the Girl Scouts, she organized and led the fundraising efforts for a new town library while living in Billerica, MA, and she organized social events at Vesper Country Club, where they were members for several years.
When her marriage ended in 1978, Cecile pursued her college education and achieved this lifelong goal through determination and grit. She completed her degree at 55 years young, with all five of her children and newborn grandchild shouting “Go Mom” from the balcony as she received her diploma. Still ambitious, she convinced a local bank to hire her, where she worked in customer service for ten years.
Cecile retired in 1993 and stayed active as a SHINE counselor, board member of Elder Services in Lawrence, town hall volunteer in the town of Westford, MA, and a prominent member of the women’s French-Canadian Club, Jeanne Mance, receiving their highest honor as Woman of the Year in 2014. She had a robust social life with friends as well as many travel adventures including trips to Alaska, Israel and Greece. She loved to attend theater productions at the Merrimack Repertory Theater and the Lowell Symphony Orchestra. Cecile’s strong sense of faith was always a big part of her life. She was an active member of St. Andrews Church in Billerica, MA, St. Mary’s Church in Chelmsford, MA, St. Catherine’s Church in Westford, MA and later Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield, MA.
In 2014, she moved to Armbrook Village in Westfield, MA. She lived there for 12 years where her sense of community and adventure continued to grow and thrive. The family is especially grateful to the staff at Armbrook, who always treated her with great kindness and love. We also express a great deal of gratitude to Baystate Hospice for their support of both Cecile and her family during the last several months prior to her passing.
Services will be held on October 23rd, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield, MA. In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations be made to the International Rett Syndrome Foundation in honor of Cecile Demers, grandmother of Keilly McMahan, rettsyndrome.org or to any other charity of your choice.
In honor of Cecile and her vibrant sense of style, we encourage all in attendance to come dressed in color and joy.
