Oldest Parishioner Dies
Delia Mary Louise Lafrance (1901-2007)
St. Mary’s oldest parishioner passed away quietly in her sleep on January 31, 2007. She was 105!
Delia was born in the Parish of St. Raphael’s (adjacent to St. Mary’s) to Cleophas Geneau and Mary Louise Valade, and is survived by two sisters; Georgina and Sister Alice (St. Joseph Sister). Both live in Ottawa. She is also survived by a great host of relatives who still live in the same County (Glengarry) as Delia’s parents – many in the small village of Summerstown, who one relative jokingly nicknamed ‘Geneau Ville’.
I came to know Delia at about the time she celebrated her 100th Birthday. She still lived by herself in her own home in Summerstown. Family and friends visited often, and her beloved nephew, Donald McDonald, made sure she had all the necessities. Delia fully inhabited the downstairs of her two storey home (age restricted her to the first floor only) and surrounded herself with a life time of memorabilia, family pictures, religious art, (especially pictures of the saints), and her plants.
A visit to Delia’s was like stepping back in time, and ahead into eternity. Delia, stooped and fragile, would usually greet you at the front door and invite you to sit at her kitchen table. On it she would have a cross, candles, one of her many rosaries, and various holy cards with pictures of deceased friends and relatives on the back. For Delia faith was everything, and she definitely believed in the ‘Community of Saints’. In some ways the veil between heaven and earth was slightly parted when one visited Delia. She loved life, and longed to celebrate it for all eternity with those she had known and loved during her long, and sometimes very hard and life filled journey. Let us pray that the Good Shepherd has welcomed her, and that she has been reintroduced to all those she diligently prayed for, and longed to see again. Delia, may you enjoy and celebrate in your new home in God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. And, I don’t think I need to remind you to pray for us until we meet again. You proved yourself in this regard while your were with us.
Delia’s funeral was celebrated at St. Mary’s on February 3, 2007. Her burial will take place this spring in the family plot at St. Mary’s Cemetery where her mother, father, and other family members are buried.
