Marylyn Florence (Chatigny) Niemi

WESTMINSTER – It is with profound sadness we announce the passing of our mother, Marylyn Florence (Chatigny) Niemi, 91. She left us on March 31, 2021 while in the loving care of the staff and hospice at the Baldwinville Skilled Nursing Home after a brief illness. She was born in Gardner, MA on July 2, 1929, daughter of the late Walter E. and Ruth M. (St. John) Chatigny and spent her youth growing up in Westminster. She graduated from Burbank School of Nursing and married George J. Niemi on February 9, 1951. They lived at 92 Bolton Rd. in Westminster where they raised their two daughters. They were married for 35 years before his death in 1986. She worked for the Town of Westminster, serving the community as the traveling town nurse. She helped many unable to care for themselves as a psychiatric nurse with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health both at Gardner State Hospital in Gardner and the Lipton Center in Fitchburg. After she retired from her career as a nurse, you could find her during the winter months working for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area as a way to stay active and involved. Marylyn loved to cook and entertain. The more people she could gather together for a Sunday afternoon meal the happier she was. She enjoyed traveling and especially going on cruises, was skilled with knitting needles, loved to water ski, and during football season she was cheering for her favorite team, the New England Patriots. She spent a lot of her spare time hiking the trails of Mt. Wachusett with her granddaughter Katy. But her greatest enjoyments were dancing and spending as much time as she could with family and friends. She was a former member of St. Edward the Confessor parish in Westminster and in recent years she was a member of St. Denis parish in Ashburnham. She leaves two daughters: Cheryl S. and her husband Curtis T. Barnard of Westminster and Sharon M. Niemi and her husband Edwin J. Couillard of Tetonia, ID, her granddaughter Kathryn (Katy) M. Barnard and her partner Eric Krauss of Barre, her step-granddaughter Jordan and her husband Kevin Shinnick of Northboro, NH, her brother Raymond E. Chatigny and his wife Leona of Westminster, and her partner and companion for the last four years Lorin Jangrow. She also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, cousins, in-laws and very close friends. In addition to her husband, she is predeceased in death by her mother, father and brother Walter E. Chatigny Jr., all of whom she dearly missed. She lived an incredibly full life and will forever be in our hearts. A private, family burial will take place at the Woodside Cemetery in Westminster. A Celebration of Her Life will be held later this year when we can gather family and friends safely to remember her love and contributions to us all. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to a charity of your choice. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.mackfamilyfh.com Mack Family Funeral Homes – Lamoureaux-Smith & Poliks, 105 Central St., Gardner is assisting with arrangements.