West Hartford, VT- Carol Y. Rivard, 81, passed away peacefully with family by her side on Sunday, July 24, 2022, at The Village at White River Junction.

She was born December 13, 1940, in Ware, MA, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Deschaine) Harper. Carol spent her youth in Ware, attended Mount Carmel grade school, Ware High School and graduated from St. Vincent Hospital's School of Nursing in Worcester, MA. She was married to Walter Thomas Powers in 1963. Shortly before the birth of their son, Mr. Powers was killed in an automobile accident. Carol met Raymond Rivard, who also grew up in Ware and they were married April 15, 1967. She loved being a nurse and worked at various hospitals while living in Chicopee, Ludlow and Three Rivers, MA. Carol and Raymond moved to Vermont in 1978 and have lived in West Hartford where they raised their family for the past 43 years.  She continued to work as a nurse at Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital for 25 years before retiring in 2003.

Carol lived for her family and was a dedicated mother. She was a Boy Scout den mother, a volunteer educator for 4-H, organized fund-raising carnivals for neighborhood children and hosted many parties celebrating the last day of school when her children were young. All of the neighborhood kids called her "mom" wherever she lived.

Carol was an active member of St. Anthony Church in White River Jct., and taught catechism classes for many years while her children were young. She was very proactive and supported matters that were important to her including her role as a West Hartford Library Trustee.  Carol loved music, everything from Elvis to Loverboy to jazz and classical. She played the piano and sang at church funerals when she was younger. Carol instilled the love of music into her children encouraging them to play instruments and took them to many concerts and musical performances. She also enjoyed traveling with Raymond including trips to Spain, Antigua, the Bahamas, several of the US states and 15 summers spent at Cape Cod.

She met many wonderful people during her retirement as a member at the CCBA in Lebanon, NH, including a group of ladies who participated in the aqua aerobics classes known as the "Hot Tub Chicks". They became fast friends gathering for coffee and to celebrate birthdays. There was never a dull moment, always somewhere to be and many occasions filled with laughter.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Raymond, of West Hartford; son Thomas Powers of West Burke, VT; daughters Denise Bloom of West Lebanon, NH, Danielle Hilstro of Concord, NH, Beth Rivard of Lebanon, NH, Christine Rivard of Peabody, MA, her sister Elaine Demers of Ware, MA, several nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Carol spent the last 16 months of her life in memory care at The Village in White River Junction. Her family is grateful for all of the wonderful caregivers and staff at The Village as well as Armistead Home Care and Bayada Hospice and Physical Therapy.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 3rd from 5-7pm at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Jct. A Catholic funeral service will take place Thursday, August 4th at 11am at St. Anthony Church in White River Jct. The burial will be at a later date.

Condolences to Carol's family may be made in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.