Therese Fortier

Sr. Therese Fortier, 84, of Orange, CA passed away on Saturday June 25, after a long illness. She was born on in Sanford on May 15, 1927 to Alex and Rose Fortier.Sr. Therese joined the Sisters of St Joseph when she was 23 years old, and went on to become a missionary in New Guinea for 19 years. She also was a missionary for the Aboriginal people in Australia for five years where she started a program for adults and school children on alcohol awareness due to the high number of alcohol abuse within the Aboriginal population. Upon returning to California, she worked for a new program that was created for "women in transition" helping women with drug and alcohol problems create new lives for themselves. She celebrated her 60th Jubilee in July 2010.She is survived by her sister and brother in law, Doris and Albert Dion of Sanford, her brothers and sisters in law, Patrick and Priscilla Fortier of Sanford, Phillip and Stella Fortier of Sanford and Robert and Diane Fortier of Moody and many nieces and nephews. She was an amazing person who was loved by all and will be greatly missed.She was predeceased by her parents, her brothers Leo and Rene and sister in law Dale.A funeral mass to celebrate her life will be held in Orange, CA at the Sisters of St Joseph on Thursday at 10:30 AM.Condolences may be expressed at the Condolences tab at left.