Delores Arlene LaFramboise-Bancroft

Delores Arlene LaFramboise-Bancroft, of Chesapeake, VA, died peacefully on March 18, 2024, on the feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, at Farrington House in Merritt Island, Fl.
She was born on July 4, 1932 to Fredrick and Augusta Berlin. She was raised in Auburn, MI, where she met her husband Alfred Joseph (A.J.) LaFramboise and they were married at St. Joseph Catholic Church. She was a 1950 graduate of Handy High School.
Delores lived in Bay City for most of her life while raising her family and keeping the books for Al’s many enterprises, until she gladly gave that job to daughter-in-law Vickie. She and A.J. loved beautifying their yards with sumptuous gardens, especially their last home in Niccolet Place. It was common to see her outside with her sun hat and gloves on for hours on end, with A.J. pitching in as much as his schedule allowed.
Often, Al would show up in the late afternoon unannounced, with one or several guests and Delores would somehow come up with a spread that satisfied all! Many of the recipes she found, and prepared are still in circulation among her children and grandchildren.
After decades of battling with Parkinson’s Disease, Alfred died at home in Oct. of 2013 with Delores and her sister-in-law Therese Reer at his side. Several years of loneliness ended when she met Lewis Bancroft while visiting her daughter, Betsy, in Florida. She and Lewis were married in 2017. They lived in Chesapeake, VA. for most of the year, and spent summers in Bay City.
The last couple of years Lewis accepted more and more of the responsibilities due to Delores’s growing mental confusion. Lewis claims that during the entirety of their time together, he never heard a complaint from his wife. Indeed, people knew Delores as possibly the most kind and gentle soul they had ever encountered.
Delores is survived by her husband Lewis, children; Michael LaFramboise (Vickie), Mary Jane Ward, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Bancroft (Gary). Her son, Paul, predeceased her in 2008 after a long battle with cancer. She has six grandchildren: Jody Lambert, Jayme Ward (Michele), Andrew LaFramboise (April), Peter LaFramboise (Julia), Rochelle (Shelly) Kyser (Brent), and Luke Roggenbeck and 22 great-grandchildren: Samantha (Omar), Matthew (Marissa), Nathan, Raquel (Josh), Sophia, Tyzen, Logan, Dylan, Lillian, Addison, Ava, Emma, Juliana, Isabella, Maximus, Clara, Domiano, Augustine, Lucia, Shelbey Bucuren (Chris), Ashley Huckabay (Zachary), and Bryanna Lambert.
She also has seven great-great-grandchildren: Victoria, Rosalia, Sebastion, Camber, Ewan, Perrin, and Lydia.
Funeral Mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, 607 E. South Union St, Bay City, MI, with burial to follow at Calvary Cemetery, Kawkawlin, MI. It will be celebrated by Father Andrew LaFramboise. The family will be present to receive visitors on Wednesday at the Church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Mass.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Food For The Poor. To make a donation “In memory of” (IMO), please go to https://foodforthepoor.org/delores or mail to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fl 33073.