Trending
Eleanore (Ele) Robinette Bouchard age 96, peacefully entered eternal life surrounded by her loving family on Sept. 30, 2026.
Eleanore Therese Wikaryasz was born in the Bolton, MI family farmhouse on Feb. 20, 1930, to the late Stanley and Cecilia (Kieliszewski) Wikaryasz as the seventh of eleven children. Throughout her life, Ele held firmly to her love of Church and family values instilled in her by her parents, which values were apparent to anyone who visited with Ele for even a short time. As a little girl enjoying the many learnings that farm life in a big Polish family had to offer her, Ele knew that she wanted to fulfill her life by raising a family and by obtaining a teaching degree that would enable her to help young minds develop their God-given potential and be positive contributors to society. After graduating from high school at St. Anne's in 1947, she completed an advanced degree at Alpena County Normal in 1948 that paved the way for her cherished teaching career.
Having acquired the necessary credential to pursue her dream of teaching, Ele met and fell in love with Wilfred Robinette, whom she married on May 21, 1949. Within a few years, they began their family and had a wonderful life at Long Lake raising six children. Wilfred preceded her in death on June 22, 1983. Eleanore later married Daniel P. Bouchard on July 11, 1987. Dan is left to cherish her memory along with her children, stepchildren, many grandchildren and great grandchildren, her extended family, many friends and her former students.
Ele's unique start to her teaching career involved the challenges of not only being the only teacher educating grades kindergarten through 8th in a one room schoolhouse, but also included her walk to the Bolton School of several miles each way and taking on all responsibilities for maintaining the schoolhouse such as cleaning, firing up the furnace, etc. Following her work in the public school system, she devoted herself to St. Anne school for 21 of the 30 years she spent enjoying her dream job until retirement in 1990. While she taught and raised her children, she continued her college education and graduated with a BS degree from Central MI University in 1980.
The most important and rewarding part of Ele's teaching experience involved preparing children for the sacraments of reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. She felt so blessed to provide children with the necessary knowledge about these sacraments that would strengthen their relationship with Jesus throughout their life and help them achieve eternal life with God. Ele was always jumping in to help friends and family in big and small ways as her way of giving back to God for the gift of her life. She was resolutely committed to God and for many years made time for her ministry to the sick and homebound as she took great pleasure in the honor of bringing the Holy Eucharist to them. Throughout her life, Ele was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and served in a special way through the Rosary Society of St. Annes Church. She also served St. Anne's for years in other ways: as a lector and Eucharistic minister, serving through the St. Anne Sodality and the Daughters of Isabella, serving on the building committee for the Parish Center. As another example of how much Ele treasured her life and was committed to a culture of life, she gratefully donated over 12 gallons of blood to the Red Cross to help others in need of lifegiving blood.
In retirement, she took up oil and water painting, making many works of art to enhance her home and the homes of her children and stepchildren. For many years her friends and family delighted in greeting cards she designed and painted which included a rift on a national ad that said "If you want to send the very best, make it yourself' which obviously reflected her belief that giving meant giving something of yourself. In 2003 she wrote her autobiography titled "Ele's Memoir's" which was published as a book and is especially treasured by her family and friends. She considered it a labor of love. Ele enjoyed fishing with Wilfred on Long Lake and Lake Huron, and continued the joy of fishing in Northern Ontario, Canada with Dan. Always a good sport, she nonetheless good naturedly warned her card playing opponents that there were no "friends" in cards and war!
The fullness of Ele's life continued to give her pleasure in her memories even as her body could no longer keep up with her energetic spirit. To her last breath, she held her family close in her heart and they know she will continue to support them in her eternal reward. Ele is the proud mother of four daughters and two sons: Marsha (Lew) Goldfarb, Cheshire, CT, Gary (Julie) Robinette of Alpena, Jo Ann (Mark) Doyle of Gladwin, MI, Christine (Michael) Klein of Lake City, MI, Michael (Paige) Robinette of Broadalbin, NY, Kathy Froggett of Alpena, MI. As testament to her family values, her children's spouses were welcomed to the family as her children. Similarly, when she married Dan, she lovingly embraced her stepchildren and their children: Phillip (Brenda) Bouchard of Lincoln, MI, Randy (Nora) Bouchard of Alpena, Brenda (Daryl) Foote of Kissimmee, FL, and Lynn Bouchard of Alpena. Her stepdaughter, Amy Bachman preceded her in death. Also surviving her is her brother Stanley Wikaryasz, Mequon, Wisconsin; sister Margorie Nasser, Michigan City, Indiana; and sister-in-law Doris Donajkowski, Alpena.
Ele's legacy of love will continue through her children, 22 grandchildren and their spouses, 26 great-grandchildren and all whose lives she touched with her kindness, self-sacrificial gift of sharing herself generously, her joyful enthusiasm for all God's creation and her desire to be with God in eternity.
Visitation will be held at the Bannan Funeral Home on Friday, Oct. 9 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the Rosary at 3 p.m. and a Parish Prayer Service at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Saturday, Oct. 10 at St. Anne Church of All Saints Parish from 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. with Rev. Aloysius Okpala officiating.
Interment: Holy Cross Cemetery.
Ele's family wishes to acknowledge Hospice of Michigan for the incredible care her nurses and aide provided her, and express their immense gratitude for her devoted and loving caretaker, Nana Afuko. Ele often said that flowers are for the living. If you wish to make a memorial, she asked that it be to All Saints Catholic School; or that you simply share flowers, a hug or some other kindness to honor your loved ones as the precious gift they are in your life.