Loretta (DeMartino) Lafreniere

Loretta (Illuminata DeMartino) Lafreniere

1/6/1921 – 12/24/2021 (age 100)

Loretta (DeMartino) Lafreniere, formally of Middlebury, CT, passed away on Friday, December 24th, at Mulberry Gardens Memory Care, in Plantsville, CT, after experiencing several years of dementia. She was the wife of the late Paul Lafreniere.

Loretta (Illuminata) was born on January 6th, 1921. She was the daughter of the late Antonio and Antonetta (DeBrigida) DeMartino. She was born and raised in Waterbury, until she married the love of her life, Paul, who built their home in Middlebury - that featured an in-ground pool - because she loved to swim and entertain. Their home was the place for parties and family gatherings for many years, including several weddings. She resided there until five years ago. 

Loretta was a graduate and honor student of Crosby High School in 1938, and graduated from Barnard College in New York. She worked her entire career at Connecticut Light and Power (Eversource) as a manager of the Engineering Department, beginning in 1946, and retired in 1983, so she could spend additional time with her granddaughter.
She more than loved her job and her friends at CL & P, and spoke of them often -  especially her best friend, Betty (Boop). 

Loretta and her husband Paul enjoyed traveling with their friends. There are too many places to list, but some of the places she would talk about included a 17- day tour of Europe in 1970, which included Holland, Italy, France, Germany and England. She also traveled to the Caribbean Islands, and was especially fond of her trip to Africa, where she sat on a camel, and was ever so proud of the pictures they took of her. In addition, a wonderful trip that she had fond memories of, was her cruise to Alaska, which made the Waterbury newspaper.  She was a parishioner of St. Patrick’s church in Waterbury, and a member of the Women’s Guild.

Loretta was predeceased by her loving daughter, Diane Rockwell, and brother, Vincent (Alena) DeMartino.

She leaves behind her son-in-law Robert Rockwell, granddaughter Britney Anne (Ted) Anderson, and her cherished, beloved great-granddaughter, Ember Anderson, who filled her life with love and laughter. She is also survived by her beloved niece, Sheila Marie (Eduardo) Haddad, who cared for her since her daughters passing seven years ago, her niece, Debbie Camp, great-niece, Stacey Camp; nephew, Vincent (Anne) DeMartino, and sister in-law, Helen Earl, along with several great-nieces and nephews.

There will be no visitation hours due to Covid, but the family invites you at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 28th, 2021, at Our Lady of Mt, Carmel Church, 785 Highland Avenue, Waterbury, for a Mass of Christian Burial.  Burial to follow at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests to please make a donation of your choice.

To leave online condolences, please visit us at www.colasantofh.com

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