Fairfax woman, late husband took in 37 kids
"I took the kids in because I wanted them." - Maryann Zeno.
"When I came home from college. I came home to her." -
Marie Bourdeau, speaking of her foster mom.
By CONOR BERRY
Messenger Staff Writer
Maryann Zeno, right, says she and her late husband, John, often had a half-dozen or more foster children in their care. The couple had 37 children spend time with them in foster care, along with two children of their own. More than four decades after Marie Bourdeauwas placed in foster care at the age of 11 months, she and her foster mother remain extremely close.
FAIRFAX - Marie Bourdeau was placed in foster care when she was just 11 months old. Now 44, she still considers the woman who raised her to be her real mother, even though she isn't her biological mother.
"They just treated us like one of their own," said Bourdeau, referring to her foster parents, Maryann and the late John Zeno. Over the years, the couple cared for nearly 40 foster children at their River Road home in Fairfax.
As Mother's Day approaches, there is no doubt about the feelings Zeno and Bourdeau share.
"I never considered her (Bourdeau) a foster child," Maryann Zeno, 76, said on a recent afternoon. "She is my daughter."
The close relationship shared by mother and daughter -- it probably helps that their property lines touch, too -- is palpable. Bourdeau pops in to check on Zeno on a regular basis and their bond is as strong as any biological mother-daughter relationship, they say.
Zeno said she and her husband, who died several years ago, had at least a half-dozen foster children in their care at any given time. The couple has cared for 37 different kids over the years as well as their two biological children, said Zeno.
A small stipend from the state hardly covered the cost of caring for so many children, Zeno said, but money was never an issue.
"I took the kids in because I wanted them," she said. Even though she already had two kids of her own, "that wasn't enough," Zeno said. "I just wanted the kids. I didn't care about the money."
Bourdeau said Zeno was always there for her growing up, the person she relied on for help, advice and reassurance.
"When I came home from college," said Bourdeau, "I came home to her."
Bourdeau got to know her biological mother, whom, she said, was too ill to care for her and her brother, Robert Paquette. Paquette, who is 13 years older than Bourdeau, works in the banking industry and lives with his family in Connecticut. Bourdeau said she never knew her real father.
As she got older, Bourdeau began to visit with her biological mother more regularly, but the burgeoning connection never eclipsed her relationship with Zeno. Bourdeau's natural mother passed away in 1986.
Zeno said she never legally adopted Bourdeau out of deference to Bourdeau's mother, whom she knew.
Even though Bourdeau always has considered Zeno to be her mother, a recent turn of events copper fastened their relationship. When Zeno recently took a fall, broke her ribs, and developed pneumonia, Bourdeau said it wasn't until she signed the hospital release papers -- which typically only a family member can sign -- that she realized the extent of their relationship.
"It hit me when I signed the papers," said Bourdeau, adding that Zeno's biological children, neither of whom live locally, allowed her to handle the situation. "It was a real eye-opener."
Zeno was born in a small village near Quebec City and grew up speaking French. Her family moved to Fairfax when she was quite young, but, like many older Franklin County residents born north of the border, she didn't learn a word of English until later. Today, she still knows some French, she said, but English is her adopted language.
Today, Bourdeau is married with three daughters of her own, ages 9, 13 and 15, and Zeno considers them all to be her granddaughters.
"I claim them all," said Zeno.
Looking back on her mother's innate maternal sense and the scores of children she cared for over the years, Bourdeau said, "I don't know how she did it."
Marie Bourdeau, left, discusses her close relationship with her foster mother, Maryann Zeno.
Contact Conor Berry at 524-9771, ext. 111, or conor@samessenger.com