FCAM members and Officers extend our sympathies to Chief Rivard and his family, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Chiefs wishing to join the Somerset Fire with a walk-through for Barbara Rivard (Chief Rivard’s Mother) on Wednesday, August 27th, at 9:45 am are welcome. Class A Uniform requested. Please meet at Saint Joseph Church, North Main Street, Fall River.
Barbara A. (Soares) Rivard, 94, of Somerset, passed away on Thursday, August 21, 2025 at the Clifton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Somerset. She was the wife of the late Norman “Tiger” Rivard, FRFD.
Barbara was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of the late Fernand Soares, FRPD, and Frances A. (Ouellette) Soares. She was a graduate of BMC Durfee High School class of 1949 and the Allans Business School in 1950. Mrs. Rivard worked for the Fall River National Bank and Bank of New England as a clerk and typist for twenty-two years, retiring in 1992. Barbara was an avid reader, who cherished being with her family and working in her garden. She was a communicant of Saint Joseph Church in Fall River.
Survivors are two daughters: Carol A. Geller of Fort Lauderdale, FL; Anne R. Hill of Tolland, CT; two sons: Professor Emeritus David A. Rivard of Kittery, ME; Somerset Fire Chief Stephen J. Rivard Ret. of Somerset, MA; grandchildren: Michael Geller and Stephanie Ericson, Simone Rivard, Coleman and Noah Hill; two great grandchildren: Walker Geller and James Ericson; a brother: Richard “Dick” Soares, FRFD Ret., of Lady Lake, FL; along with several nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Joan King.
Her family will receive relatives and friends on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 from 10am to 11am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11am in Saint Joseph Church, North Main Street, Fall River. Burial will be private at the request of the family. Flowers are omitted, memorial donations in her memory can be made to Saint Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. The family would like to thank the staff on 2 West at Clifton and the staff at Hanover Hospice for the care and compassion they provided to Barbara and her family.