Michele Elizabeth Dufault, age 22, of Scituate died in a lab accident on April 13 in New Haven, CT. Michele was the beloved daughter of Diane Quintin Dufault and Robert Dufault. She is survived by her parents and her older sister Caroline, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was the granddaughter of Robert Dufault and the late Mabel Dufault, and the late Paul and Ruth Quintin. She will be deeply missed by her large family and her many friends at Yale and Nobles.

Michele was a senior at Yale University where she majored in Astronomy and Physics and was an outstanding student and involved in many volunteer activities. She attended public schools in Scituate and graduated with honors from Noble and Greenough School where she was captain of the crew team and ran cross-country. She was active in events encouraging young women to explore scientific fields, and helped organize annual science fairs for local students. She had a leadership role in the Women in Physics Conference. She played the saxophone and was a member of the Yale Precision Marching Band. She was part of the Yale Drop team, which involved anti-gravity experiments carried out at NASA. A student in Saybrook College and had many friends throughout the University. She volunteered at New England Village in Pembroke, MA. Michele's teachers, both at Nobles and at Yale, made it a point to speak of her extraordinary abilities.

Visiting hours

Visiting hours Friday, April 15, from 4 - 8 pm at McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer St., (across from St. Anthony's Church), Cohasset.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those wishing to honor Michele's memory contribute to New England Village, 664 School Street, Pembroke, Massachusetts; or the Nature Conservancy.

Service Information

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 10 am in St. Mary's of the Nativity in Scituate Harbor. Interment private.

A memorial service will be held on the Yale campus later in the spring.