St. Francis resident's memory lives on in 'Jeanne Machine'

LACONIA — St. Francis Rehabilitation & Nursing Center has a new resident: a 15-passenger van named "The Jeanne Machine."

The vehicle purchase was made possible by a donation from a former resident, the late Jeanne Marchand. In her memory, the staff named it for her, where her zeal for life and adventure will be shared by the residents who use it.

“She lived her last two years here. She embraced everything we had to offer her. She was able to carry about her faith. She loved all the different enrichment programs we had to offer,” said Brenda Buttrick, administrator at St. Francis. “There were just a lot of things she really enjoyed about living here, and completing her life here.”

Marchand died in October 2024.

In a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 11, residents and Marchand’s family were invited to gather on the front lawn and enjoy sparkling cider and photos of Marchand. Father Dick Thompson, St. Francis chaplain, said a blessing, then guests were invited aboard for the van’s inaugural ride down Court Street.

“It was a really nice event. We have a little magnet that we had bought that says, ‘The Jeanne Machine,’ in her memory,” Buttrick said.

The van is a hot commodity at the senior living community, and now, staff will be able to take residents on more trips. Its accessibility allows for up to three wheelchairs, or 15 people, making sure a greater portion of the population can participate in the fun.

“It will be taken out for recreational use, mostly for residents and folks from our independent living, to go out to the different events in the community. Or going out to dinner, going sightseeing,” Buttrick said. “Some of the things we’re looking forward to are the fall foliage trips. And we take them out to see the Christmas lights.”

The former van, a 2012 model, was in rough shape, and difficult to get parts for. A welcome feature of the new, state-of-the-art van is an announcement system, so narration for sightseeing trips can be broadcast throughout, and heard by all.

Marchand was an active member at St. Francis, and while it took a while for her to make her way up to the Lakes Region again from Florida, she eventually made her way home.

“Jeanne Marchand was a resident who lived here from October 2022 to October 2024. In her early adult years, [she was] a resident of Laconia, then retired to Florida,” Buttrick said. “It was her wish, strong wish, to come back to New Hampshire. She was a devout Catholic. She was very involved with her local parish, so she knew about St. Francis many years before.”

Now, her legacy will be seen on the streets of Laconia, entertaining St. Francis residents for years to come.

To see more photos of the event, visit facebook.com/StFrancisRehabandNursing.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.