Michelle M. Buteau

Michelle Marie Buteau, 64 of Worcester, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston surrounded by love. She was born on March 26,1956 and raised in Hudson, MA., the daughter of the late Barbara (Bassett) and Richard Buteau. Michelle loved her parents and they gave her a strong foundation of being kind and compassionate, caring for others, and her love of nature and airplane flight.

Michelle leaves behind the Love of her Life, her spouse, Fran Peterson. They built a beautiful life and home together in Worcester for over 24 years. She also leaves her son Adam Rouille, who she adored, his wife Caitlyn who she was very happy to have in the family, and her beloved granddaughter Charlotte “Charlie” who she loved more than life itself. Michelle loved to sit and read with Charlie or you could find them in the kitchen baking cookies.

Michelle also leaves behind her nephew Tyler Hyland. Tyler and Michelle had a very special bond and could often be found in the kitchen discussing food or the next project they would be working on or fixing. Her niece Melissa (Peterson) Somers who she could always count on to lend a hand in secret party planning. Her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Pete and Sherri Peterson. Pete was Michelle’s sous-chef in the kitchen. And her Uncle Bill Piscillo who she adopted as her own and took care of him better than anyone could have. Michelle also leaves a large group of warm and loving friends who loved her and will miss her dearly.

Michelle was a very active individual both in body and spirit. Michelle rarely sat and was always on a mission to start and complete new challenges. Unfortunately, the challenge of having Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis was a difficult road for Michelle. She met the challenge head on and was determined to live a full and happy life. And she did!

Michelle is known to her friends and family as the problem solver, loving, a giver, kind, sensitive and compassionate. She made others feel like they were the most important person in the room. Even if it were just to stop and help someone put groceries in their car, to feeding a homeless man breakfast every day, or to check in with someone to see how they were doing. Michelle did not have to work at being kind …. she just was.

Michelle could often be found working in her garden creating a beautiful oasis to share with her family and friends, working in her kitchen making fabulous meals for the many parties she threw for birthdays, or her world famous Christmas Parties that would kick off the holiday season for all who attended.

Michelle had a spirit about her of giving. She often made extra food while cooking and made sure to send some up to the neighbors or over to Uncle Bill.

Michelle was a florist by trade and in her heart. It was something she loved to do. Michelle attended the World Famous Rittners School of Floral Design in Boston and excelled at it. She went on to own the Paxton Village Florist for five years in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Michelle greeted everyone who entered the shop by name, remembered their families, and took her job very seriously. She looked at it as privilege to work with people during their most important events in their lives; births, proms, weddings, deaths, Michelle celebrated and sat with anyone who came in the shop.

Once leaving the flower shop, Michelle went on to reinvent herself and again went back to school for medical coding and billing and worked at Eliot Human Services (MSPCC) for over 16 years. During that time, she made many friends. She extended herself throughout those years, having made many events to help decrease stress and increase morale. She could often be found hiding objects for a scavenger hunt or making up riddles for clues, decorating the front office with important information on mental health issues, but making it so attractive people would be drawn to the information. Michelle again brought her generosity of spirit to work bringing in things she baked or setting up parities for the holidays.

There wasn’t a holiday Michelle couldn’t conquer. Each holiday was given a serious makeover with her artistic talent.

Michelle loved nature. She could often be found out walking or at the beach. She had a great love for airplanes and would stop everything to take a run outside to see what plane was flying overhead. (something she learned from her Dad.) Michelle loved to travel and always made her way to where there was a water way. Being in nature grounded her.

Michelle loved science, weather, cooking, and gardening. She especially loved to hear children laugh…it would bring an instant smile to her face. To all the children and now adults who spent time with Michelle she loved you all. To all of Michelle’s friends she made along the way, you improved her life and she was grateful for that. Finally, a special thank you to Jacki Heffernan, Deb Broe and Jill Jeffers who jumped in when asked and were willing to take on being part of Michelle’s support team for a lung transplant. She was very grateful to know you would be there to help.

Michelle’s family would like to thank the Brigham and Women’s Hospital for the wonderful kind and compassionate care extended to Michelle and Fran during these most difficult last four weeks. They would especially like to thank the doctors, nurses, social workers, and clergy on Shapiro 9 East who provided great comfort in Michelle’s transition on to the next life.

While Michelle was unable to receive her own transplant and in her last final act of kindness, she was able to donate her organs and save the lives of two other individuals with the potential of 50 more in the future.

If you would like to honor Michelle’s memory take a walk in nature, stop off and smell some flowers, offer to lend someone a hand, run outside and check out the plane over head or stand outside in a good wind storm.

“Life’s too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” – Dr. Seuss

Services for Michelle will be held privately. MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation St., Worcester is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements. To share your thoughts and memories of Michelle, please visit her personal guestbook at www.mercadantefuneral.com