Evangeline "Vangie" Commeau

Evangeline H. Commeau

Evangeline H Commeau (known as Vangie) was born in Orono, Maine, on January 12, 1921; she died in Hollywood, Florida, on October 2, 2022 at the age of 101.  Vangie was the daughter of John B. Commeau and Emily Haché Commeau. She was predeceased by her parents, her father’s children:  Raymond Commeau, Ida Commeau, John J. Commeau and Della St. Peter; her mother’s children, Thomas Brideau and Mabel Sirois; and her parents’ children:  Stanley Commeau, Margaret Grant, Clayton Commeau, and Robert Commeau. Her half sister Ida and brother Clayton died in 1918 as a result of the great flu epidemic.

Vangie kept in touch with her remaining nieces and nephews whom she loved and enjoyed: Judith Commeau of Bath, ME; Allen Commeau (Rich) of  Westlake Village, CA; Janice Miller (Charlie) of Raymond, ME; Robert Commeau (Margee) of Port St. Lucie FL; Joyce Cote (Jerry) of North Port, FL; Paul Commeau (Cindy) of Venice, FL; Tucker Grant (Anne) Westlake Village, CA; Pamela Chenea (Paul) of Wayne, ME; Martha Grant (Rodney) of Presque Isle, ME; and Frank Grant of Auburn, ME. She was predeceased by nieces and nephews Ruth Robson, Teresa Pereira, Edmund St. Peter, Clayton Commeau, and Richard Grant.

Vangie grew up during the Great Depression graduating from Orono High School in 1939. She then attended a National Youth Administration school, one of President Roosevelt’s projects, called the Resident Training Center in Springvale, ME. The school featured a home economics program that was under the supervision and guidance of Nasson College, a nearby girls school at that time.

Vangie was employed by Bath Iron Works, a well known shipyard in Bath, Maine that produced battleships during World War II. Vangie worked there as a clerk and was witness to the  quiet-paralyzing fear of her fellow workers for their loved ones overseas when D-Day was announced on the shipyard loudspeaker system.

Following the war years, Vangie was employed as a receptionist and switchboard operator at Maine Public Service Co. in Presque Isle, ME. At that time, electricity was generated primarily by hydro-electric plants. Following a disabling drought, it was necessary to ration electricity. Assistance was needed and electricity was supplemented by a U.S. destroyer that was docked in the Portland, ME harbor. This was followed by the construction of diesel generating plants and later by nuclear power plants.

Vangie spent years working at Presque Isle Air Force Base as secretary-bookkeeper for the NCO Club and later worked at the Base Comptroller’s Office, Budget and Finance Division managing non-appropriated club accounts. She also served as treasurer of the federal credit union on the base. She  returned to Orono, ME where she worked in the accounting department for Pete Page who ran a construction, gravel and cement business. On November 22, 1963, the day JFK was assassinated, Vangie moved to Florida where she lived first in Miami, then Hollywood. She was employed by Miami-Dade Junior College under Dade County, then Miami-Dade Community College under the State of Florida. Now Miami-Dade College offers a four-year degree program. Vangie saw the college grow from a one-campus, one-building operation to a multi-campus institution. Vangie was selected by her peers as a staff representative for the Florida Association of Community Colleges. She worked at the college from 1963 to 1986 when she retired. While working days, Vangie attended evening classes and earned three associate degrees, all with honors; at the same time she took non-credit art courses.