Sr. Patricia Blais, DHS
Sr. Patricia Blais, 100, a member of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, died June 11, 2026, at St. Joseph Living Center in Windham.
Born Fleurette Patricia Marie on March 17, 1926, in Lewiston, Maine, she was the daughter of the late Joseph Stanislas Blais and Marie Stella Goulette Blais. When she was 19, Patricia attended the Boston Ritter School of Floral Design in preparation to manage the family’s flower shop. However, she did not find the work satisfying and in 1961 she entered the Daughters of the Holy Spirit. She was then known as Sr. Marie Stella.
That year, she started teaching first grade in Burlington, Vt., while studying at Annhurst College. Sr. Patricia received her bachelor’s in education in 1973. She taught primary grades in Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Returning to Vermont in 1989, she ministered as a Home Care Provider until she retired in 2001. Once back in Connecticut, Sr. Pat became a driver for the sisters at the Provincial House of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit in Putnam. When the Provincial House closed in 2019, she joined the community at St Joseph Living Center. She celebrated her 100th birthday in March among family, friends and the DHS Spiritual Family.
Wherever she went, true to her name and early training, Sr. Pat worked behind the scene, planting gardens and spreading floral beauty everywhere, including her windowsill at the Living Center.
She leaves the Daughters of the Holy Spirit spiritual family – her Sisters in community, the Consecrated Seculars and the Associates as well as many nieces and nephews and their children. She was predeceased by her sisters Paulette, Constance, Solange, Sr. Priscilla, DHS and her brothers Bertrand and Norman.
Calling hours will be June 19 at St. Therese of Lisieux Parish/Holy Trinity Church, 568 Pomfret St., Pomfret. Wake will begin at 11 a.m. with a prayer service at 11:15. The Mass of Christian Burial will take place at noon. Burial will immediately follow in St Mary Cemetery, Putnam.
Donations: DHS Retirement Fund, P.O. Box 497, Putnam, CT 06260. The Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
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