Elizabeth Rita Parquette

Elizabeth “Betty” Rita (Laracy) Parquette, age 98, passed away in her Walpole, Massachusetts home on Monday, June 17, 2019, surrounded by her loving family.  Born in Walpole on December 6, 1920, she was the daughter of the late James and Mary “Molly” (Manley) Laracy.  As a life-long resident of Walpole, she graduated from Walpole High School with the Class of 1938.  Betty went on to attend Academie Moderne finishing school in Boston. 

 

Not long after graduation the United States entered the Second World War. During the war Betty held a position with the New England Telephone Company, working as a switchboard operator.  She was very proud to have been able to connect many soldiers with their families during the war years.

 

Betty’s twin brother Sonny, a soldier, brought his best pal home to meet his sister.  Betty married this returning soldier, her beloved, John R. “Papa Jack” Parquette, on June 30, 1945 in Blessed Sacrament Church in Walpole.  The young couple made their home in Walpole, where Betty took on the role of a homemaker, raising and caring for her six children.

 

Betty was part of the Greatest Generation. Her formative years were forged by the Great Depression and later the sacrifices of war. In those early years she always knew how to make the best of things when resources were limited. The strength of her family and community sustained and nurtured her.  The lessons she learned were passed on to us, the Boomers. They resonate to this day: work hard and love harder.

 

Betty was the center of the family. She loved her children fiercely and without reservation, and they loved her back. Every holiday, major and minor, was celebrated with creative flair and warmth. She loved to draw, paint, and create ceramic pieces. Every family event was captured in snap shots, and there were a lot of family events. We were blessed. 

 

Beloved wife of the late John R. Parquette.

 

Loving mother of John Parquette and his wife, Rita, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Barry Parquette and his late wife, Jennifer, of Milford, New Hampshire, Beth Parquette and her fiancé, Charles Davis, of North Port, Florida, Mark Parquette and his wife, Lana, of Port Charlotte, Florida, Greg Parquette and his wife, Margaret, of Plymouth, and Martin Parquette and Claire Parquette of Walpole.

 

Cherished grandmother of 14 and great grandmother of 8.

 

Sister of the late Mary Smith, Mildred McNulty, Cecilia Thurston, Sonny Laracy, and William Laracy.

 

Also survived by many nieces and nephews.

 

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Betty’s visitation on Friday, June 21, 2019 from 4 to 7 PM and Saturday, June 22, 2019 from 9 to 9:30 AM in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Saint Jude’s Church, 86 Main Street, Norfolk on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 10:00 AM.  Interment will follow in Saint Francis Cemetery in Walpole.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the MSPCA, 350 S Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.