Natalie “Barbara Louise” Bussiere

Sister Natalie Bussiere, SNDdeN is the youngest of four children, two boys and two girls. She had a very happy childhood in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and was spoiled by her parents, George and Irene (Bourget) Bussiere. The children all attended Catholic schools.

At Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro, Sister Natalie was taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. “I loved the Sisters, but I was a typical bratty boarding school kid, and I did everything I could to torment them,” she says with a smile.

The Sisters had a positive influence on her.

“They were such happy people,” Sister Natalie recalls. “They were always so good to us. I knew they had something special.”

At a time when young women could enter the workforce or enter the convent, Sister Natalie and many of her friends were of the same mind. Her family, however, tried every trick in the book to dissuade her.

“My brother bought me a red Chrysler convertible as a bribe to not join Notre Dame,” she says. “It didn’t work!”

She remembers pulling up in the car on the day she entered the convent. The Mother Superior, seeing the golf clubs in the back seat, asked, “What do you think this is, a country club?”

Sister Natalie brought the clubs in anyway and would take practice swings out on the lawn. At least, until the day she broke a window with an errant golf ball!

She entered the SNDdeNs in 1956, took her first vows in 1959 and final vows in 1964. Her religious name was Sister Barbara Louise. Eventually, her parents came around to support her decision. 

“They had a summer home in Maine, and they invited me to bring my friends from the convent for a vacation,” Sister Natalie recalls. “Father spent four or five days with us and realized how happy we were in Notre Dame.”

As a teacher, Sister Natalie first taught older elementary children before moving to junior high school, where she taught science and social studies. She loved working with that age group. Her missions took her to St. James in Salem, St. Mary, in the North End of Boston, St. Mary in Lynn and St. Augustine in Lawrence, where she served as principal. She also taught in Florida.

Sister Rosemary Fay, SNDdeN says Sister Natalie was the best principal she ever had. They worked together at St. Augustine.

“She was an educator herself,” says Sister Rosemary, “so she was very supportive of the teachers. She was a good leader who sought out others’ perspectives before making her decisions. It was either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ — no ‘maybe’ with Natalie.”

Once, Sister Rosemary, an art teacher, made the “mistake” of telling Sister Natalie that she wasn’t busy enough at St. Augustine. She ended up teaching not only art classes but also science and library, thanks to Sister Natalie!

On one of her most meaningful missions, Sister Natalie spent 12 years out west in Thoreau, New Mexico, working with children in the Eastern Navajo Nation at St. Bonaventure Indian Mission School. She taught there and served as the school principal.

“That is one of my favorite places,” she says fondly. “My brother bought me a horse, and the children helped me name him Red Cloud. He was my buddy.”

She fell in love with the beautiful landscape and enjoyed traveling around the area. Mostly, she loved the kids and teaching them about God. Several were baptized. 

She also lived and worked with several marvelous people who became close friends. Sister Sheila and Sister Marie Etta, in particular, are two women whom Sister Natalie loved and admired. 

At the time of her 70th Jubilee in 2026, Sister Natalie is grateful that even when times were difficult, God showed her his grace.

“I have no regrets,” she says.

Updated in 2026