Sister Claire LaRoche

Sister Claire LaRoche (Sr. Claire Regis) SUSC died May 1 at the age of 90 at Mary Immaculate Nursing/Restorative Center, Lawrence. The daughter of the late J. Arthur and Juliette (Lajeunesse) LaRoche, Sr. Claire was born in Cambridge, MA. Her brothers Charles, Gerard, Paul, Raymond and Roland, and her sister, Sister Pauline LaRoche, SUSC pre-deceased her. She is survived by her sister Madeleine (LaRoche) Musetti and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.


A graduate of the former Notre Dame High School, Cambridge, Sr. Claire entered the Holy Union Sisters on August 15, 1945. She attended Sacred Heart School of Education and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Catholic Teachers College, Providence. She received a Masters in Religious Education from Boston College.

Sr. Claire’s educational ministry spanned over fifty years. She taught in elementary schools staffed by Holy Union Sisters in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  She served as principal and superior at Sacred Heart Parish, Lawrence and superior at Rose Hawthorne Convent, Concord. She taught French and Religion at the former Sacred Heart High School, Lawrence. From 1977 to 1998 she was Director of Religious Education in her home parish of Notre Dame, Cambridge. When she retired to St. Mary’s Villa, Lowell in 1998, she continued service to the former parishioners of Notre Dame and tutored students at the Holy Union Multicultural Center.

Sr. Claire retired to Mary Immaculate Residence in Lawrence in 2006. Ill health necessitated a transfer to the Nursing/Restorative Care Center in 2014. Sr. Claire  celebrated seventy years as a Holy Union Sister in 2014.

Sister Claire's funeral will be held on May 8 at St. William Church, 1351 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA. The wake is at 10 a.m. followed by the Prayer Vigil at 10:30 and Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at St. Bernard Cemetery, Concord.

Donations in Sr. Claire’s memory may be made to Holy Union Sisters Mission Advancement Office, P.O. BOX 410, MILTON, MA 02186.