Vivian L. Duval

 Longtime St. Catherine’s parishioner Vivian L. Duval, age 92, died on October 3, 2024, in her home on the Merrimack, in the house where she spent the summers of her youth. 

 Born in the City in June 1932, Vivian (nee Vivianne) was the oldest of the four daughters of Estelle (Raiche) and David Lamoureux. Viv learned to ski with family and friends in her backyard, a skill she honed for the next seventy-five years. Viv attended the Ecole Ste Georges and graduated first in her class from St. George High School in 1950. A biology major at Regis College, Class of 1954, Viv studied hard and made fast friends during her college years. 

 Following her graduation, Viv married Robert A. Duval, M.D., the oldest brother in the family of her friend and neighbor, Denise. When the new couple relocated to Worcester for Bob’s residency, Viv took a job at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, working on the development of the birth control pill, a fact she proudly recounted in later years. 

 Viv and Bob’s family began with two children in Worcester. Four more followed in the decade after their return to Manchester. Viv’s knack for managing her growing household served her well in keeping the books and greeting patients in Bob’s practice. Viv became involved in the Manchester Women’s Club, the Regis Alumni Club of New Hampshire, and the NH Medical Society Auxiliary. Never one to shirk a duty or to offer any effort but her best, Viv took the helm of the Auxiliary and coordinated a childhood vaccination campaign. And later, inspired by friends and encouraged by Bob, Viv became a realtor, working for Sue Vachon at the Brokerage.

 Throughout their 54-year marriage, Viv and Bob enjoyed times alone and with others. Family gatherings were frequent and fun. Dinners out and travel played a big part, including trips to Wallis Sands and family vacations across the region. Viv loved to walk around the block and on the beach, and to hear the surf at night. She kept the house spotless, never failed to serve a meal on time, and always had enough to offer the many friends and family who stopped by. Her lobster Newburgh, grilled cheese, fondu nights, tourtiere, and household notes were legendary. She hung decorations for every holiday, chose her outfits and accessories with care, and never missed a soccer game, a graduation, or performance of any of her children. Her pivot towards fulltime caregiving for Bob for eight years in their home before his death set a high bar and an example of true love, devotion, and hard work for all around her. She found respite at Mass in those days and after, in lunches with friends, and weekly tennis outings.

 Viv had a knack for playing with kids. A painter of landscapes and still lifes, Viv kept drawers of art supplies, coloring books, and cookies for their entertainment. She shared her love of swimming, skiing, tennis, skating at Dorr’s, White Mountain attractions, board games, and poker with wildcards. She taught her kids to ride bikes, fish with hotdogs and seaworms, canoe, row, and to appreciate and play peppy music. She took her children to and from practices, college, and art lessons at the Currier, where she was a longtime member. Her interest in local history fueled by her family’s presence in the City since the 1800s found expression in her decades of membership in the Manchester Historic Association and her contributions to Manchester history books.

 As a mother of six, Viv worried ceaselessly about many things, especially loose dogs and thin ice. She endured sailing with Bob on Massabesic and the ocean, though she was happiest if the main was reefed and the storm jib raised at the hint of a gust. She taught her family to weather rough seas with a bottle of Dramamine, a stack of saltines, ginger ale, and a gaze firmly set on the horizon. 

 She was comfortable around others and quick to smile and laugh, but never wanted her own comfort to be a burden to anyone. She faithfully visited friends in nursing homes and attended daily Mass until Covid shrank her world. When a heart problem and dementia changed her life towards its end, she accepted with gratitude and tolerance the help she needed to stay at home. And with her French prayers said and done, she died in her bed quietly, looking across the River towards her true home.

 Predeceased by Bob, Viv is survived by her children, Suzanne and her partner John Vick, Robert and his wife Jean, David, Thomas and his wife Paula Noonan, Jennie and her husband Gerard Bedard, and Natalie and her husband Charles Spalding; her grandchildren, Anna, Jenny, Jennie, Dan, Sally, Sam, Bonnie, Suzanna, Kyle, Ellen, Kristen, Joe, Eric, Eliane, and Gigi; sixteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild; as well as her sisters, Yvette Rheault, Marcelle Connare, and Rita Labrie; her brother-in-law Vincent Duval and his wife Marcelle; and a dizzying number of friends, cousins, nieces and nephews, and their kids and grandkids.

 The family is grateful for the help of Viv’s caregivers and Pathways Hospice. 

 SERVICES: Calling hours are Monday (10/7) from 4 to 7 p.m. at Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, 1799 Elm St., Manchester. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday (10/8) at 11 a.m. at St. Catherine Church, Webster Street, Manchester. Committal prayers will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 474 Goffstown Rd., Manchester.

 In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Currier Museum of Art or the Manchester Historic Association.