Loretta “Harriet” Paquin, who died in the care of hospice workers at South Broadway Group Home, in East Providence.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

EAST PROVIDENCE — Even after her last breath, they continued Harriet’s sponge bath. She always wanted to be spotless no matter who was coming over or where she was going.

It was the first time the staff at the South Broadway Group Home, one of nine facilities run by the Ocean State Community Resources, cared for someone to their death. Their treatment of Loretta “Harriet” Paquin earned them recognition from Home Hospice Care of RI, which helped them through the process.

“You all did a wonderful job,” said nurse Melanie Sylvia, of Home Hospice Care, while presenting them with a certificate Tuesday. “It really was her home, and every single one of you was just wonderful. No matter what time I came, you were with her at her bedside, stroking her hair, reading the Bible to her...” The staff said Paquin was simply “family” and deserved the best.

Paquin came to the facility when she was 86 from a South County group home. She was developmentally disabled and had an injured hip that left her in a wheelchair, said Steve Reeder, the associate director of Ocean State.

Ocean State Community Resources Inc., which has its headquarters in Barrington, is a nonprofit human-service agency providing “residential options, day-service alternatives, and a variety of support services to people with developmental disabilities and their families,” its Web site says. It was established in 1982.

The South Broadway home takes a maximum of four patients. It has a staff of about seven who give round-the-clock care through shifts but don’t live at the facility.

“We want to keep it small because it’s a family-oriented agency,” Reeder said. “We became her family by the end. I used to call her Nana. She was a hot [ticket]. She loved life. She always had a smile on her face and was always goofing.”

Harriet called them over with a high pitched, “You-whoo.”

They did her hair and nails daily. Before she took a turn for the worse, they took her bowling, out to eat and to parties at Ocean State’s other centers. Reeder said she even held a boa constrictor at a snake show.

She had nicknames for everyone — Come and Go, Judy Cottontail, Anna Bananna and Loud Mouth. She made them laugh all the time and she blew kisses when they left for the day or shift change.

At her 89th birthday, her cake had 39 on it because Harriet said that’s how old she would always be.

“She really was a pistol,” executive director David Reiss said. “She was joy, too.”

“We’re honored to surround her with love and dignity as she was dying,” said house manager Renee Bacon, who’s nickname was “Mama.”

Home Hospice became involved near the end because she wanted to die at the group home.

“We gave you a lot of information, but we learned so much from you,” Sylvia said in this week’s presentation. “I was so impressed. There should be more of these nursing homes around.”

apina@projo.com