VAN BUREN – Leona M. Duplessis, 96, died peacefully Monday, July 23, 2012, at a Van Buren health care center. She was born Sept. 24, 1915, in Lille, a daughter of Vital and Odile (Fortin) Grivois.
Leona loved flowers and tending her flower garden, playing cards, and reading newspapers and magazines. She was a parishioner of St. Bruno-St. Remi Catholic Church, attending Mass weekly until she became ill. Overall, she is remembered as a devoted homemaker and mother.
Leona is survived by two sons, Joe Grivois of Wichita, Kan., and Bob Duplessis of Hudson, N.H.; one daughter, Bertie Waltman and her husband, Arnie, of Des Moines, Iowa; 14 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents, Leona was predeceased by her loving husband, Lawrence Duplessis, in 1990; a son, Addis Duplessis; four brothers and two sisters.
Relatives and friends may call 6-8 p.m. Friday, July 27, and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday at Ouellette-Thibault Funeral Home, 118 High St., Van Buren. A funeral Mass will be celebrated 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Bruno-St. Remi Catholic Church. Committal service and interment will be afterward at the parish cemetery. To leave online condolences, please visit
www.ouellettefuneralhome.com.