Therese (Marquis) Tremblay

Marie Therese (Marquis) Tremblay, 89, a longtime resident of Ipswich, passed away on Tuesday October 22, 2024 after a long illness.  She is survived by her husband of nearly 70 years, Gilles Tremblay.

Therese, who also answered to Maman, Nana, and Grandnana, was born in Quebec, Canada and immigrated to the United States upon her marriage to Gilles in 1955.  A self-taught and talented baker, Therese owned William’s Bakery & Restaurant on Market Street in Ipswich for many years before retiring in the early 1990s but she continued to bake birthday cakes, Easter Bunny cakes, and Bûche de Noël for her children and grandchildren for many years, which brought her great joy. 

Therese loved holidays, especially hosting Christmas Eve with her children and grandchildren, and going out with friends to the 1640 Hart House on New Year’s Eve, but 4th of July was her favorite. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1959 and she loved celebrating Independence Day.  Gilles and Therese hosted a large barbeque every 4th of July with family and friends at their pool where the grandchildren could watch the Ipswich parade go down Linebrook Road and then see the fireworks at night. 

Therese and Gilles lived in Ipswich for more than 65 years surrounded by family, friends, and their church, where Therese volunteered for many years cooking and running the snack bar for the Christmas Bazaar, first for St. Stanislaus Church on Washington Street, where the French-Canadian community at the church welcomed Therese in those early years before Therese learned English, and then at Our Lady of Hope Parish on Linebrook Road after the churches merged.

In addition to her husband, Therese is survived by her four children: Louise Beckett and her husband Merrill of Byfield, MA; Marc Tremblay and his wife Susan of Pascoag, RI; Denise Ziemlak and her husband David of Longmont, CO; and Philip Tremblay and his wife Jennifer of Safety Harbor, FL; eleven grandchildren: Matthew Beckett  (Amelia)of Medford, MA; Stephen Tremblay  (Alison) of Purvis, MS; Christine Maguire (Patrick) of Georgetown, MA, John Gregg Beckett  (Lynsey) of Arvada, CO; Nicole Gallifrey (Michael)of Longmont, CO; David Ziemlak, Jr. of Cape Canaveral, FL; Bradford Tremblay of Waltham, MA; Kenneth Tremblay of Orlando, FL; and Natalie Tremblay of Safety Harbor, FL; Justin (Tara) Picard of Warwick, RI; Heather (Kevin) Solera of Douglas, MA. Also ten great-grandchildren: Abigail, Carolina, Liam, Evelyn, Beckett, Willoughby, Lowell, Jakob, Camryn, and Kailey.

A visitation for Therese will be held at Our Lady of Hope Church, 54 Linebrook Road, Ipswich, MA on Monday  November 4th, 2024, from 10am to 11:00am, followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00am.  Relatives and friends are invited to attend.  Burial to follow in Ipswich.  In lieu of flowers, the family would request a donation in Therese’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association or to the Catholic Charities Boston.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Morris Funeral Home of Ipswich.  To send a letter of condolence to the Tremblay family please go to:  MorrisFH.com .

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