Irene A. Plourde

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Irene Agnes Plourde on January 4, 2024 at Ridgewood Center in Bedford, NH.  Irene passed peacefully after dealing with advancing dementia.  Irene was born in Boscawen, NH on October 27, 1938 to parents Reginald Peter and Delina Champagne Plourde.  She graduated from Tilton-Northfield High School in 1956 and from Keene Teachers College in 1960.  A lifelong, devout Catholic, Irene had visions of becoming a nun.  After college, Irene studied Religion and Theology at Maryknoll Teacher College in NY from 1960-1962 and found purpose with the Maryknoll Order of Missionary Sisters.  This experience led her to the Marywood Dominicans in Grand Rapids, MI where she attended Aquinas College, receiving a Certificate of Completion for a 3-year program of study in Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Religious Education. During her time in MI, Irene discovered her passion for elementary education while teaching second and fourth grades in three of the area elementary schools. After five years with the Marywood Dominicans, Irene returned to NH in 1970 to become a full-time teacher.   She first taught special education at Boscawen Elementary School and then third and fourth grades at Salisbury Elementary School, eventually becoming a teaching Principal of Salisbury and later, principal of both Salisbury and Webster Elementary Schools.  She also attained a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration in 1988 from Notre Dame College in Manchester.  Irene was known to many as “The Big Cheese” and students and staff quickly learned to keep on her good side, but they also quickly appreciated and respected her. As a friend and colleague said, she was not afraid to raise her voice and in the next instant, give you a hug.  On her desk, she always had a plentiful supply of peanut M&Ms and pictures of her cats for students to enjoy. One of Irene’s former students wrote in a Middle School English paper:

“It was third grade and my first day in a new school.  I liked all the kids, but who was this teacher? She was the strangest teacher I’d ever met. She was always making jokes and acting crazy, always making us laugh.  I couldn’t figure her out.  I mean, how many teachers were there who acted like a kid themselves?

But that was Ms. Plourde, and I got to like her pretty fast.  Ms. Plourde was the best teacher.  She told us stories and jokes.  Everything was fun in her class.  We had fun learning, even if it was New Hampshire history.

No one was better than anyone else in Ms. Plourde’s class.  That was the good part.  Everyone was equal. With Ms. Plourde, it wasn’t like we were just a classroom of kids; we were individual people, special in our own ways.”

And that was the Irene Plourde many of us knew.  She was a true educator who appreciated children and had a sense of humor and a way with words.  She truly loved making people laugh. And consistent with her faith, she remained active at St. Paul’s Church (now St. Gabriel) in Franklin, NH., and extended her role as a teacher, teaching Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes to those who were converting to Catholicism.

After retirement, Irene moved to Leesburg, FL and made many friends in her retirement community.  If she wasn’t bowling or golfing, she was playing bridge, swimming in the local pool or going line dancing – and watching New England sports, especially the Red Sox, whenever she could.  Her schedule was always full.  She also taught RCIA classes at St. Paul Catholic Church in Leesburg, and she traveled extensively, going on several cruises and traveling north and west to visit family and friends.  

But Irene always intended to move back to NH, and when she felt the time had come, she moved to the John H. Whitaker Place in Penacook where she spent 3 happy years.  We express heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Whitaker for the attentive care provided to Irene in her last years. We also wish to thank Irene’s close friend Chris Barry for her time and devotion to Irene’s care and well-being.

Irene was predeceased by her parents, her three siblings (Robert, David, and Dorothy) and her best friend and “adopted” family member, Pamela D. Hutchins.  She is survived by her sister-in-law, Bee Plourde, adopted family, Mark Hutchins, Karen, Jesse, Kendall, and Pamela Bieluch of Bethel, ME, and Andrea, Jonathan, Dylan and Taylor Sickinger of Randolph, NJ and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and close friends.

A college book scholarship in Irene’s name will be established to support students in the Merrimack Valley School District, details for which will be provided at a later date. Funeral services, burial at Calvary Cemetery, in Penacook, NH, and a celebration of life will occur in the spring, date to be determined.