Maria Remillard

MILLBURY - Maria L. Remillard, 53, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday February 11, 2023 after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer, which is an aggressive, frequently misdiagnosed disease often discovered in advanced stages.

She is survived by her husband, John Remillard; daughter Tamara Mitchell and her husband Shaun Mitchell; sons Andrew Rockwell, Storm Rockwell, Keith Remillard and Kyle Remillard; parents Joseph (Stanley) and Rosemary Coley; and brother Steven Christey Coley and his wife Michelle Jung. Maria was predeceased by her brother Joseph Coley.

Maria graduated from Mt. St. Charles High School in 1987, raising children early in adulthood and overcoming countless hurdles, including living with lupus. Despite this she went on to graduate from Providence College in 1999 and earned her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 2002, after which she became a law clerk working for the justices of the family and probate court. Most recently, Maria was a family and probate attorney at Bowditch & Dewey for over ten years, ultimately becoming partner in the firm. She was sworn into the US Supreme Court in 2013 and was very proud to argue a case in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court. Maria was honored as part of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Top Women of Law in 2019 for her accomplishments in the legal community, as she was a highly regarded trial and appellate lawyer.

Though Maria had an amazing legal mind, the job she loved most was being a mother, wife, and daughter, and she was incredibly excited for the upcoming arrival of her first grandchild. She was generous with her time and her heart, swearing never to forget her struggles while she reached the pinnacle of her career. She always set goals and achieved or exceeded them.

Outside of work, Maria enjoyed spending time with her friends and family, looking for any opportunity to host a gathering or participate in an obstacle course race, and loved exploring the outdoors and traveling. During the winter you could find her skiing, and during the warmer months she loved hiking or being in the water, whether that was the pool, lake, or ocean. Her enthusiasm was boundless. She started her own YouTube channel to document her activities and adventures, often accompanied by her English Goldendoodle, Harley, whom she loved very much and even earned ranks as the official Bowditch mascot! After receiving her diagnosis, Maria stepped away from chronicling those experiences and focused on documenting her cancer journey, where she helped inspire and give hope to her followers with her raw vulnerability and dedication to unvarnished truth.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at www.dana-farber.org, In Memory of Maria to support Ovarian Cancer research (found in area of ‘women’s cancers’). Maria was relentless in educating people that ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer, with more than 70% of these cancers diagnosed at stage three or four. As deadly as this disease is, it is disproportionately underfunded and there are no early detection tests.

Family and friends will remember and celebrate Maria's life by gathering for a time of visitation on Friday, February 17th from 5:00pm - 8:00pm at Mulhane Home for Funerals, 45 N. Main Street in Millbury.

A graveside service open to all will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, February 18th at Fairview Cemetery, 380 Providence Road in South Grafton. There will be a celebration of life following at 12:00pm at The Vineyard Church, 84 South Street in Hopkinton that is open to all.