Jeannette Dillihunt

PORTLAND – Marie Jeannette Dillihunt, of Portland, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the age of 93. She was born on April 9, 1933, in Kenogami, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of the late Philippe and Lottie (Jewell) Mimeault.

Jeannette adored her parents and five brothers, who instilled in her an unwavering devotion to her Catholic faith and a rich family life. Growing up in a Canadian mill town, she attended Catholic schools, where she greatly admired her English-speaking teachers and resolved to continue her education in English. At graduation from St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Montreal, she received the school’s highest award for bedside manner. Although the typical path for a nurse with her training would have been to teach, Jeannette preferred caring directly for patients and especially treasured her years at Montreal Children’s Hospital.

Her devotion to her faith led her to move to the United States, where she lived and worked with the The Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph, an order of nuns, at DeGoesbriand Hospital in Burlington, Vermont. She considered becoming a nun, but God had another plan. There she met the love of her life, Richard “Dick” Dillihunt, a doctor at the hospital.

Together, Jeannette and Dick made their home in Portland, Maine, where she became a proud United States citizen and they raised six children. Their family eventually grew to include 29 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Though she was an accomplished nurse, pianist, and graceful ice skater, her greatest joy and proudest accomplishment was being a mother.

Jeannette devoted her life to raising her family, supporting her husband’s busy surgical career, and making their home on Berkeley Street a place of warmth, elegance, and welcome. Until her final days, it remained a gathering place where family and friends always felt at home. She approached homemaking as both a vocation and an art. Visitors were often treated to a house tour as she shared her belief that a beautiful, cheerful home was a gift to everyone who entered it.

Daily life in her home reflected her love of beauty and hospitality. She enjoyed fashion, preparing delicious French-inspired meals served on fine china, arranging fresh flowers, and creating joyful family traditions. She found holiness in ordinary work done with extraordinary love and dedication. From Mom to Granny she continually sought ways to make her home a place of delight for children, filling it with toys for generations of grandchildren and great grandchildren and keeping the swimming pool heated extra warm. Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and holy books throughout the house reflected the deep faith that guided her life.

The kitchen table was Jeannette’s “office.” It was there that she spent much of her time, celebrating everyone’s arrival with warmth and grace. She was quick with a compliment and a wonderful listener – endlessly interested, never judgmental, and a contagious optimist. She had a remarkable gift for making anyone she encountered feel as though they were the most important person. Deeply devoted to the Rosary, she faithfully prayed for the specific intentions of countless others and made numerous pilgrimages throughout the world.

Jeannette also had a special fondness for Dunkin’ coffee. She was a familiar face at the drive-thru, often visiting more than once a day. The staff knew her well—and knew her order by heart: a medium hot coffee with two sugars and extra cream.

Jeannette was predeceased by her beloved husband of 62 years, Dick and her five brothers, René, Albert, Leo, Arthur, and Victor.

She leaves her loving children, Barbara and her husband Chris, Nancy and her husband Vin, Joan and her husband Harvey, Bill and his wife Felicia, Eileen and her husband John, and Catherine and her husband Michael; her cherished grandchildren, Ben, David, Michael, Patrick, Tim, Liz, Mary, Andrew, Margaret, Joe, Martha, Catherine, Anne, John, Michael, Jada, Carly, Jack, Annette, Edward, Grace, Will, Katie, Bridget, Maureen, Julianne, David, Joe, and Carolyn; and her adored great-grandchildren, who affectionately knew her as “Super Granny”: Penny, Preston, Niall, Finn, Lottie, Roan, Simon, Louisa, Francis, Claire, Eric, Julie, and Eleanor.

Services will be announced soon. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Cremation, Funeral and Gathering Center, 300 Allen Avenue, Portland.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Brigid School, 695 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine 04103.