OBITUARY NOTICE:
Brother Francis René Papineau, SA, Franciscan Friar of the Atonement
(October 11, 1927 – December 1, 2017)
(December 4, 2017—Graymoor, Garrison, NY) Brother Francis René Papineau, SA, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, entered eternal life on Friday, December 1, 2017. A wake service is planned at Graymoor on Tuesday, December 5 at 7 p.m., and a Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at 10 a.m. Both services will take place at the St. Paul Friary Chapel at Graymoor. Interment in the Friars’ cemetery will immediately follow the funeral.
Bro. Papineau was born and raised in Central Falls, RI where he graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1945. He joined the United States Navy in October of the same year. Bro. Papineau achieved the rank of Seaman 1st Class and was awarded the WWII Victory Medal for his service. He was honorably discharged in October of 1947. In April of 1952, Bro. Papineau entered the Community of the Friars of the Atonement. He received his habit in January 1953 and professed his First Vows in 1955. He made his Final Vows in 1961.
From 1955 to 1957, Bro. Papineau worked in the Culinary Department at St. John Seminary in Montour Falls, NY and from 1957 to 1962 he worked in the Culinary Department at St. Joseph Friary in Saranac Lake, NY. He returned to St. John Seminary’s Culinary Department in 1963 and remained until 1965. Bro. Papineau was assigned to the St. Paul Friary at Graymoor in Garrison, NY in 1965 and worked in Administrative Services until 1977. From 1977 until 1981, Bro. Papineau worked in General Services at the Atonement Seminary in Washington, DC. He returned to Graymoor in 1981 and worked in the Purchasing Department until 1984. He was assigned to an administrative role at the Catholic Central Library in London from 1984 – 1989. From 1989 until 1997, Bro. Papineau served as Administrator at the St. Pius X Friary in Clearwater, FL. He retired from active ministry in 1997 and served as Administrator of the St. Francis Novitiate at Graymoor from 2009 – 2012.
Bro. Papineau was the son of the late Valmore J. Papineau of Central Falls, RI and Herminie E. Fredette Papineau of Marlboro, MA. The youngest of twelve children, Bro. Papineau was predeceased by his three brothers, Omer, Ralph, and Valmore and eight sisters, Clarice, Loretta, Yvonne, Irene, Rita, Theresa, Cecile, and Alice. He is survived by two nieces, Madeline McCaffrey and Dolores Parker, and two nephews, Ronald Papineau and Roger Paulhos. Bro. Papineau was a resident of the St. Paul Friary at Graymoor in Garrison, NY at the time of his passing.