Marie Vivian Kahuda

Marie Vivian Kahuda

05/28/2021

Marie Vivian Kahuda (née Thibeault), was born on February 11th, 1951 in a farmhouse in Fort Kent Maine in the middle of a snowstorm. She was the youngest of nine children born to Patrick and Edwina Thibeault, and she loved her childhood with her brothers and sisters on the family potato farm. Vivian attended high school at St. Joseph’s Academy in Portland, ME. While away at school just before her graduation, she met her future husband, Peter Kahuda, who was stationed in Maine with the US Air Force. They married on December 19th, 1969, and began their life’s adventure together shortly thereafter with a deployment to Okinawa, Japan. Later, they would begin and nurture their own family first in Cincinnati, OH, then in Westfield, MA, and finally in Woodstock, CT, raising two sons and mourning the loss of a daughter, Monique Vail, in between.

Vivian spent years as a beloved special education teacher in the Woodstock Public School system, and later filled the roles of office manager and bookkeeper for her husband’s business, Ideal Plastics Systems. During those years she thrived simultaneously as a devoted and supporting mother and in managing the household. As her boys got older Viv took up painting in watercolors, finally taking some time for herself that her busy schedule hadn’t allowed previously, and satisfying her natural creativity. Later, after their boys had left the house and business responsibilities faded, she and Peter found their way to Florida in retirement where they enjoyed spending time with Viv’s siblings, local friends, and a steady stream of visitors. An active member of White Chapel Church of God in South Daytona, Vivian also greatly enjoyed volunteering her time as a comfort giver to babies in the NICU, a cause near and dear to her heart.

Wherever Vivian went, she made lifelong friends who gravitated to her caring and selfless personality; she always made time to nourish those friendships and will be greatly missed by many. Viv relished her role in keeping strong connections between her extended family, evident in the time she spent organizing many family gatherings, encouraging and maintaining family communications, and researching and sharing the Thibeault genealogy in preparation for family reunions.

In December 2019, Vivian made the trip of a lifetime along with her husband, sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, renewing her wedding vows with Peter and celebrating 50 years of marriage and their beautiful life together. A short time later, she was sadly diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and mounted a courageous fight as she was determined to see her beloved grandchildren grow. True to form, throughout her battle no one ever heard her complain about her circumstances or her pain. Vivian had long idolized her mother Edwina’s perfect mix of strength and selflessness; and while she was too humble to ever suggest it, her family knows how well she emulated her mother’s example.

Vivian lived a full life that anyone would be proud of, and yet she leaves us with much more she wanted to do. She had long dreamed of skydiving, zip-lining, and visiting her family’s ancestral homeland of Île de Ré, France. More recently, Viv had hoped to enjoy more family vacations to the coast of Maine, to drive her car again, resume her painting, and most importantly to impart her love to her grandchildren and continue celebrating their successes and milestones. While she may have run out of time, the example and legacy she left will remain with her family and friends forever. Her influence on and her contributions to all of our lives will no doubt continue. Vivian was the glue that bonded her family, and her example will result in many family adventures to come. As for those extreme sports, we have a feeling now that her body can rest, she’ll find a way to accomplish those as well!

Vivian is survived by her loving husband of 51 years, Klaus Peter Kahuda, her oldest son Kyle and his wife Pam Kahuda and their children Maura and Kaden, and her youngest son Brent and his wife Christa Kahuda and their children Caris and Brenon. Additionally, she leaves her sister Muriel Cote, brothers Clarence, Ronald, and Gerald Thibeault, mother-in-law Marie-Luise Kahuda, numerous nephews and nieces, and many cousins that she grew up with. In addition, there are many others whom she cared for and loved as if they were her own children and countless close friends spread across the country and the world. In heaven, she reunites with her mother and father, Patrick and Edwina Thibeault, her brothers Edgar, Edward, and Herman Thibeault, her sister Doris Nadeau, her daughter Monique Kahuda, her grandson Becket Kahuda and many close friends.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 5th, 2021 at Lankford Funeral Home in Deland Florida from 1 to 3 p.m. An informal gathering will begin at 1 p.m. and the service will begin at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Vivian’s memory to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. https://eshop.halifaxhealth.org/Foundation/in-memory-of-donation