Madeleine Patricia Rabideau

Madeleine Patricia Rabideau passed peacefully on August 15, 2017 at the age of 60, resigning this life in calm and humble hope of Heaven. As she departed this world, she was surrounded by her family who loves her immeasurably. Madeleine showed her immense strength until the end and will forever be in our hearts.

She was born Madeleine Duquette on August 17, 1956 in Plattsburgh, NY. She grew up in Rouses Point, NY enjoying the shenanigans her older brothers (Donald and Robert) were constantly partaking in and she spoke often of how they were a wild bunch. She recalled trips to Quebec to visit her Aunts, Uncles and cousins. She loved her extended family and recalled so many fun outings with them. During her youth, she, her sister and mother would spend hours baking, gardening, taking walks or doing crafts. At a young age Madeleine took a great interest in sewing. As any teenage girl knows, new clothes are the best and Madeleine had a passion for beautiful things. In those days she had little funds to buy new clothes so she took it upon herself to create amazingly fashionable pieces. She was meticulous in her seamstress skills. She made countless flower girl dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses, Halloween costumes and matching outfits for her girls, and beautiful handmade Christmas stockings for her grandchildren.

Madeleine met her husband, Ron, in high school and fell in love with this charismatic basketball star. On March 31, 1973 she married the love of her life and became Madeleine Rabideau. She gave birth to her first daughter, Chrissy, very young in life but never complained of the sacrifices she had to make to raise a child at such a young age. She loved her family fiercely and wholly. In 1982, she gave birth to her second daughter, Jessica. Over the years Madeleine worked intermittently while she raised her children but mostly she was dedicated to being home with them. In 1986, her family moved to Underhill Center, Vermont. She immediately began employment at the Essex Health Center and loved getting out of the house. In 1988 she began working at Saint Michael's College in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. She was an Executive Administrative Assistant for 26 years. She loved Saint Michael's for the people, the culture and the sense of home it provided her girls when they attended school there. She met many of her lifelong friends during her years at Saint Michael's. When she retired in 2014, she did so with mixed emotion. She did not want to stop working as she loved the interactions with all the people she encountered but she wanted to travel and be with her husband who had also recently retired. They had bought a home in Arizona and hoped to spend winters nesting there and avoiding Vermont's long winters. In 2013, life took a twist for Madeleine and she was diagnosed with Parkinsonism. It was not too long after the diagnosis however that it was clear it was not a typical case. The disease she was laid to rest with was Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS). It is rare neurological disease and there is no treatment. Madeleine bravely faced this devastating disease with the same finesse and poise she did with everything else in her life. She did not want sympathy or people to feel sorry for her so she tried to function as normally as she could for as long as she could. In her last years, she emphasized the need to spread kindness. She said be kind to those you meet because you never know what battles someone is struggling with.

What we, as her family, would like you to remember most about Madeleine was her love for life, her love of beautiful things and her immense generosity of giving to others. She was never without a gift (or two) and never expected anything in return. She loved watching the excitement on someone's face as they opened a gift from her and that look was enough to want her to do it again and again. Madeleine loved to gather with friends and family and rarely declined an opportunity for a gathering. Although winter was not one of her favorite months, she gained a new love for the season when she and Ron began snowmobiling regularly once the kids had fled the nest. One of her favorite things was to head to "camp" and snowmobile on the trails in upstate New York and Vermont. She continued this love for the outdoors throughout the summer when the whole "gang" would get on their four wheelers for a day of exploring or motorcycling through the Adirondacks. What Madeleine would most like to be remembered for, though, was her love of travel to new places. Her love of travel developed for two-reasons. The first was because her mother had always wanted to travel and never got the chance during her life. Madeleine felt every time she went somewhere new it was in honor of her mother. The second was because of her love for adventure and doing new things. Whether it be snorkeling off Maui, riding her bike at sunrise down an amazing volcano, traveling to the Caribbean to witness the amazing blue green waters, exploring the mountains of British Columbia in Banff or hitting California's best vacation spots--she was always game. She had so many dreams of going to more places and she left her family with the promise that they continue on her list of places to go. She wanted to instill the love of travel in her grandchildren and for Ron to continue to explore all the places they had talked about going. Madeleine always challenged her girls to be whatever they wanted to be and go wherever they dreamed to go. She was an amazing woman, wife, Mom, sister, Aunt, cousin, friend and confidant to so many. She always said don't sweat the small stuff and that she was ready for anything. She will be greatly missed but her light will continue to shine in all those who knew and loved her.

Madeleine was loved and cared for beyond measure and is survived by her husband of 44 years, Ronald, daughter's Chrissy (Mike) Battaglia and Jessica (Patrick) Miller, both of Colorado. She adored her grandchildren, Ella and Justin Battaglia and Evelyn Miller. She also leaves behind her loving brothers, Donald of Margate, FL and Robert (Cindy) of Peru, NY, and sister Beverly (Larry) Sokol of Marlboro, MA, sister-in-law Luanne (Ron) Poland of Plattsburgh, Aunt Murielle (Gagnon) Pharand of Pierrefonds, PQ, Uncle Michel Merango of Sherbrooke, PQ, Uncle Andre Lemire of Dorval, PQ; along with many nieces and nephews (Michelle, Kimberly, Matthew, Tiffany, Debbie, Nicole, Julie, Lorrielle and Sieanna), many loving cousins from Canada, as well as dear friends near and far. She is predeceased by her parents, Rene and Raymonde (Gagnon) Duquette, father-in-law Francis T. Rabideau, mother-in-law Elizabeth (Guerin) Rabideau, brother-in-law F. Thomas Rabideau, and sister-in-law Rosemary (Rabideau) Faille.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10am on September 2, 2017 in the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel at St. Michael's College in Colchester, VT ( https://www.smcvt.edu ). The service will be followed by a "Celebration of Life" in the Roy Room of Dion Student Center from 11am to 1pm. If you have pictures, a story or memory to share for this celebration, please email a copy to Christine.Battaglia@colostate.edu .

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the CurePSP foundation at https://www.psp.org in her memory. If flowers are ordered please contact Sally's Flowers (802-655-3894; http://www.sallysflowers.org/ ).