Madeleine Giguère (1925-2004)
Madeleine Giguère (1925-2004) , a prominent life-long resident of Lewiston, was the only child of Dr. Eustache and Dinora (Cailler) Giguère. An internationally recognized sociologist, she was known locally and regionally as “la marraine” (the godmother) of Maine’s Franco-Americans. Ms. Giguère had a long and distinguished academic career, specializing in ethnic and women’s issues. After her local education at St. Peter’s grammar school and Lewiston High School, she went on to obtain higher degrees at the Ursulines’ College of New Rochelle, Fordham University, and Columbia University. Professor Giguère taught at St. Joseph’s College and Boston College before accepting a position at the University of Southern Maine in 1967. She served there for more than two decades, establishing Franco-American Studies as a legitimate and important part of her curriculum. The author and editor of numerous groundbreaking publications about Franco-Americans, she was an authority on the analysis of ethnic components of the U.S. Census since 1970. Professor Giguère was instrumental in having ethnic heritage questions included in these fundamental national surveys, and because of her meticulous examination of this data, the Franco-Americans’ presence in Maine and throughout New England was documented and made more visible. She was a much sought-after lecturer on her demographic findings about this four century-old North American branch of the French race. Upon her retirement from teaching in 1990, she was instrumental in establishing the Franco-American Heritage Collection at Lewiston-Auburn College. She served for seven years as volunteer director of this archive of local and regional history of immigrants from Québec and Acadia, and contributed her substantial private collection to its holdings. The Reading Room at the Franco-American Collection is named in her honor. From Governor Curtis to Governor King, Professor Giguère served on state-wide committees defending women’s rights and promoting Franco-American contributions to Maine’s development. Her many awards and affiliations include her appointment to the Advisory Council on the Status of Women (1973), the U.S. Advisory Commission on Civil Rights (1979), and the Commission to study the development of Maine’s Franco-American Resource (1997). In 1997, Professor Giguère received the Maryann Hartman Award for women’s achievement. In 1992, the Library of Congress recognized her for contributions to Acadian culture. Locally, Professor Giguère was a long-time member of the Lewiston Public Library Board of Trustees and the Lewiston Historical Commission and a life-long parishioner of SS Peter and Paul Basilica, where she was a member of the planning committee and actively involved in the church’s restoration efforts. In 1986, Mayor Alfred Plourde acknowledged her for lifetime achievements on behalf of Maine’s Franco-Americans. As part of her appreciable legacy, Professor Giguère left a substantial endowment to the Franco-American Collection at Lewiston-Auburn College to ensure its future. The Franco-American Collection has established a scholarship fund in her memory. |
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