Frances A. Rondeau, 77
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Frances Antoinette Rondeau, 77, of Marion Avenue died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, at North Adams Regional Hospital after a valiant yearlong battle with cancer.
Born in North Adams on Nov. 10, 1931, daughter of Francesco and Elizabeth Lombardo Cirullo, she graduated from Drury High School.
Mrs. Rondeau worked at the former Sprague Electric Co. In her later years, she worked as assistant housekeeper at St. Anthony of Padua Church, now St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
An active member of her parish, she was a member of the St. Elizabeth Rosary Society and the bazaar workshop and participated in many other activities over the years, including serving on the parish council, helping deliver meals to shut-ins and working on the St. Anthony's 100th anniversary celebration.
Known to many as "Tootsie," Mrs. Rondeau was a fun-loving, compassionate woman, quick with a joke and always ready to make a new friend, said family. She was a loving and devoted wife, mother and friend. She liked to walk, hike, golf, read, play with her cat and visit friends.
Her husband, Ernest B. Rondeau, whom she married on June 13, 1953, in St. Anthony's Church, died in 1996.
She leaves two daughters, Monica Lora of North Adams and Nancy Rondeau of Cocoa Beach, Fla.; a son, Mark Rondeau, with whom she made her home; three sisters, Mary Bellows of Southport, N.C., Virginia Strange of Pittsfield and Rose LeBeau of North Adams; three grandchildren, Pamela Burdick, Nicole Lora and Michael Lora, and her close friend of her later years, Dewey Whitney of Williamstown.
FUNERAL NOTICE - A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Mrs. Rondeau will be celebrated Saturday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. from St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery.
There will be no calling hours. Donations may be made to St. Elizabeth's Church or to the American Cancer Society in care of Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams, MA 01247.