Obituary: Patricia E. Plante
Patricia E. Plante, a longtime Old Orchard Beach resident whose life spanned nearly nine decades, passed away peacefully at her home on June 3, 2026. She was 87.
Mrs. Plante was born in Bath, Maine, on January 9, 1939, to Gertrude Edith (Galloupe) and Joseph D. Pennell Sr. Known to family and friends as "Pat" and "Patti," she spent her early years in Bath and Biddeford before her family moved to Ocean Park in 1943. Her father died in 1947, leaving her mother to raise Pat and her older sister, Ann, on her own.
A proud graduate of Old Orchard Beach High School in 1957, Mrs. Plante began working for the New England Telephone Company the week after she received her diploma. She married her high school sweetheart, Jerome, in 1961. The two had started dating when she was a freshman and he was a senior. While Jerome completed his degree at the University of Maine in Orono, Mrs. Plante continued her telephone career in Bangor. The couple returned to Old Orchard Beach in 1964 to start their family.
When her children were older, Mrs. Plante returned to work as a teaching assistant in the Special Education program at Loranger Middle School in Old Orchard Beach, a position she held for 23 years before retiring at 65. After retirement, she devoted much of her time to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Plante is survived by her four children: Scott, of Los Angeles; Andrea E. Perrone and her husband Michael, of Old Orchard Beach; Lisa M. Bushman and her husband Michael, of South Glens Falls, New York; and Dean A. Plante and his wife Tracy, of Old Orchard Beach. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Dr. Patricia R. Plante, and wife Mary-Ann Myrant, of Palo Alto, California; her brother-in-law, Richard E. Plante, and wife Carol, of Dover, New Hampshire; nieces Suzanne Pennell, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, and Valerie Gagnon, of Dover, New Hampshire; and nephew Christopher Plante, of Tucson, Arizona.
She leaves behind 12 grandchildren — Vanessa Mansur, Michael Perrone Jr., Dean Perrone, Cody Perrone, Santino Perrone, Levi Perrone, Derek Bushman, Sarah Bushman, Haley Plante, Brianna Fregeau, Shani Plante, and Brady Plante — and 10 great-grandchildren: Brayden, Brooklyn, and Braxten Mansur; Treyton, Amaya, Anthony, Tatum, Carter, Lincoln, Jaxon, and Cooper Perrone; and Lucas Fregeau. Family members noted that at the time of her passing, she was eagerly awaiting news of whether another great-grandchild would be a boy or a girl.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jerome, in February 2025, as well as her sister Ann Provencal, her brother Joseph Jr., and their spouses.
Visiting hours will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, June 8, at Cote Funeral Home Chapel, 87 James Street, Saco. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, at St. Margaret's Church in Old Orchard Beach.
Arrangements are being handled by Cote's Funeral Home of Saco. In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
