Therese Marie Bernier Burns

Therese Marie Bernier Burns, 65, of Windham Maine, passed surrounded by her family on 2/23/24. She was born in Portland ME to L. Philip Bernier and Patricia Ann (White) Bernier. She graduated from Westbrook High School, received her BS from UM Farmington, her MS from USM, and studied for her doctorate in education at Walden University. Therese was a teacher for over 40 years. Please forgive me if I’ve botched any of her job titles or missed anything. She started as a Special Ed Teacher at Shead High School in Eastport. It was here that she became part of the Passamaquoddy community at Sipayik and began to raise Joe and Jenna. After her Mom became sick with terminal cancer, she moved the family to Windham to care for her. She worked as an alternative education teacher at a new concept school in Windham called the REAL School where she not only taught but took students winter camping, whitewater rafting, and hiking the Bigelow range. She then became the Assistant Director of Special Education for the Maine Department of Education and worked tirelessly around the State conducting workshops and teaching sessions to assist teachers and administrators in providing the best learning environment possible for students with learning challenges. She then worked as a Behavioral Specialist at the Windham Primary School until her retirement in 2022. Therese volunteered all her life for many organizations including Special Olympics, Windham Athletic Boosters, Windham Center Stage, Windham High School Performing Arts and the backpack lunch program. She took kids to Quebec as part of the French Club. She was an active Elks member and was the Saco/OOB Elks Member of the Year in 2022. She loved the outdoors, was an avid reader, and loved live performance. She was a true lover of music and light. She loved her “Downeast Community” and the People of the Dawnland. Therese loved watching her loved ones doing things and would often travel long distances to do so. She loved watching Joe and Jenna play soccer. Loved watching Logan perform on any type of stage and visiting him in NYC. Her grandkids gave her a boost in life. She could not have been prouder of them. She was excited to watch Amuwes and Muwin play sports and she loved Amuwes’s traditional drumming and singing and Muwin’s grass dancing. She was thrilled that Mallory was involved in the technical side of theater and that she was such a good wrestler. And nothing lit up her face more than holding her newest grandson Odin. Therese loved family. She loved working with Denise to help with the Fortin reunions. She loved hosting the huge Bernier family Christmas parties. She loved the Bernier family & friends camping events. She always loved attending any family wedding or celebration and was always there with a shoulder to lean on at funerals. Therese always took care of others first. She was always the first to help in any situation. Her last selfless act was to donate her organs so that others could live on. Therese is survived by her children Joseph D. Mitchell III, Jenna (Mitchell) Dana, Logan Burns; her grandchildren Amuwes, Muwin, Mallory and Odin; her siblings LoriAnne Grassi(Chris), Katherine Gagnon(Steve), Rodney Bernier(Sherene), Debra Martin(Kevin), James Bernier(Lisa), and Daniel Bernier; her stepmother Susan Penna Bernier and step siblings Beth, Steven, Michael, and Billy; her former husband Greg Burns; her godchildren Magen, Jonathan, Djaylan and Jordan; her many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins and a large circle of close friends. She was predeceased by her parents, her infant daughter Mallory, and her stepsister Lissa. Visitation will be on February 28th from 4-7 PM at Dolby Blais & Segee, 35 Church Street , Westbrook ME. A Christian Mass celebrated by Father John Fortin will be held at 11 AM Thursday February 29th at St. Hyacinth Church, 268 Brown Street, Westbrook. Special thanks to all of the very caring, kind, and compassionate ICU staff of Mercy Hospital. We had a very large presence there for 36 days and the custodial staff, CNAs, RNs, RTs, ICU Physicians, and Chest Medicine Pulmonologists all treated us and Therese with a sincere concern for all of our well-being the entire time. There were over 10 nurses and doctors who stayed late after their 12 hours shifts or came in on their own time to see Therese off on the Friday night that she passed. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite educational scholarship, environmental group, or underserved community.

Therese Marie Bernier Burns

July 23, 1958 - February 23, 2024

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