Lillian Wante Gervais was involved in Girl Scouting in Rhode Island for over 65 years and a lifetime member, a fact made more impressive when you realize that she was never a scout in her youth.
Lillian volunteered with troops at St. Ann’s parish in Woonsocket for 20 years, her troops were always very large with the largest having 64 girls! Lillian loved camping and wanted the ‘city girls’ in her troop to experience nature, so she took them to Camp Singing Winds. In those days most families, especially in the areas that she served, did not have cars, so they used school busses to get the girls and the gear to camp. Someone in the parish always had a connection to a bus company and donated the bus and driver to the cause.
Lillian’s office was in the Commercial Building, as was the Woonsocket Girl Scout Council office. They saw her around and knew she was involved in scouting, so they asked her to be on the Board, a position she accepted. Lillian moved up the ladder and eventually became the (last) President of the Woonsocket Girl Scout Council in 1958. She served in this role for four years, ending with the 1962 merger of the nine independent councils creating Girl Scouts of Rhode Island.
Lillian stopped being a leader in 1964 with no intention of going back. However when her daughter, Lyse-Anne, became a Brownie in 1972 she decided to help with the troop. When the leader at St. Joseph’s troop in Woonsocket became ill, Lillian took over and they merged with the troop at St. Ann’s. Now Lillian was her daughter’s junior troop leader, a position she kept for many years after her daughter have moved on to higher levels of scouting. Over the years Lillian moved in and out of other troops, helping various leaders in Woonsocket when they were high on girls but short on leaders, finishing with her last troop when she was nearly 70 years old!
Lillian was not only a Girl Scout volunteer – she was also a GSRI employee. She started in April of 1976 as an assistant bookkeeper and moved into other positions such as office manager and eventually Field Advisor, serving communities all over the state, from Woonsocket to Bristol to East Greenwich. She retired from GSRI in May of 1991.
Lillian Wante Gervais