Simonne B. BOUTIN

SCARBOROUGH - Simonne B. Belair, 92, died peacefully at Pine Point Nursing Center on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005. Simonne was born in Biddeford on April 28, 1912 the daughter of Adelard Boutin and Demerise Letourneau. Simonne had lived at Pine Point for the past five years with her husband Phil, who died in 2001 after 66 years of marriage. Prior to that they were 30-year residents of New Gloucester.Simonne worked for 19 years at Cummings Cleaners in Auburn. She loved to knit and cross-stitch for her family and friends.Her daughter, Felice Belair, died in 1974; and her son, Zenon Belair, died in 1998.Surviving are her granddaughter, Lisa Belair Bennet of South Portland; a great-grandson, Maxwell Bennett; and grandson, Peter Belair of Colchester, Vt.A memorial mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Friday, at St. Andre's Catholic Church, 73 Bacon St. Biddeford. -- SCARBOROUGH - Other people might find their faith shaken if they lost a daughter and then a son and then a husband.But Simonne B. Belair's faith in God was absolute. She mourned her losses but held onto her rosary and prayed. And in that, Mrs. Belair, who died Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005 at 92, found comfort.Her rosary was a near-constant companion, and her granddaughter, Lisa Bennett, who lives in South Portland, can still see her grandmother sitting in her rocking chair, holding the beads."She was a very spirited woman," Bennett said. "She was always kind of looking out for people. She was extremely thoughtful - she spoke her mind, but she spoke her mind in wanting to help others."Bennett remembers her grandmother as a strong French Canadian, as a tiny woman with white hair, blue eyes and a smile that was a gift."If she didn't like you, she would be polite to you, but she didn't mince words," her granddaughter said. "She was very feisty, and so when she smiled at you, it was a genuine, loving, warm smile."Mrs. Belair was born in Biddeford, and, with her husband, the late Phil Belair, lived 30 years in New Gloucester. For the past five years, Mrs. Belair lived at Pine Point Nursing Center in Scarborough.She loved religious music, and her favorite hymn was "How Great Thou Art." She enjoyed watching her soap operas - "my stories," she called them - and game shows."She always watched 'The Price Is Right' and 'Wheel of Fortune,' " her granddaughter said. "And she loved doing crosswords."Bennett said her grandmother always had a sharp mind and was unusually well-organized and meticulous.Mrs. Belair particularly enjoyed her great-grandson, Maxwell."She'd give Max her rosary beads, to swing the rosary beads around, and he broke them, and she was like, 'He's fine, he's absolutely fine.' "She always wanted to know how the boy was doing, always enjoyed watching him.Mrs. Belair also had a way of making people smile. "She just really makes people laugh," her granddaughter said.Even recently, when she was in and out of the hospital, people would smile when they saw her."She was just such a cute little woman," her granddaughter said. "They'd say, 'Oh my God, she's absolutely adorable.' She was sweet, she was genuine and she wanted people to know that she was being well taken care of."