Marie Lagacé, known as Sister Marie-Joseph (1875-1961) (ph_3637)

Marie was born in Frenchville, Maine. She came from a family of farmers. She received her teaching certificate at Fort Kent and taught in rural schools for twelve years. Then, she was salesperson in a store for two years. In1903, Marie answered the call to the religious life and was admitted as a lay sister at Hôtel-Dieu in Saint-Basile. Sister Marie-Joseph worked with the pupils for a while, and then was named gardener, a profession that she exercised for thirty-three years, replacing Sister Virginie. Her garden had an excellent reputation and people in the vicinity came to buy tomato or cabbage plants from her greenhouse. Sister Marie-Joseph retired from gardening at the age of eighty.