AUBURN – Jeanne LaRoche, 71, of Old Orchard Beach and formerly of Lisbon Falls, passed away at Hospice House, after a courageous battle with cancer, on Oct. 3, with her family at her side.

She was born in Lisbon on Sept. 12, 1935, the eldest daughter of Ernest and Estelle (Gagnon) Berube. She graduated from Lisbon High School in 1952, and married her high school sweetheart, Richard W. LaRoche in 1953.

She lived in Lisbon Falls most of her life, raising her children and staying actively involved in community activities, in particular the Chamber of Commerce. She was a longtime member of the Church of New Jerusalem.

Together with her husband, she was co-owner of LaRoche Insurance from 1980, until her retirement in 1997. During her career, she also worked at Agway Inc. and Allstate Insurance.

After retirement, she and her husband traveled extensively – spending summers in their Old Orchard Beach home and winters in their Sun City West, Ariz. home.

She enjoyed golfing, playing cards, cooking, watching the Red Sox, knitting her famous mittens and many other social activities. As a devoted and loving wife, mother and grandmother, her family was always first and foremost in her heart. A matriarch of the family, she filled the lives of those around her with energy and laughter, always displaying genuine care for others.

She is survived by husband, Richard; daughter, Jane, and her husband, Burt Thomas, of Auburn; four sons, Mark, and his wife, Marybeth, of Greene, Matthew, and his wife, Ruth, of Greenville, Richard, and his wife, Marilyn, on Bowdoinham and Joseph of Lewiston; as well as 10 grandchildren, Jennifer, Kendra, Anna, Gabriel, Levi, Danielle, Allyson, April, Tina and Leah; her mother, Estelle of Portland; and three siblings, Helene, and her husband, Bill Butterfield, of Kennebunk, Raymond Berube, and his wife, Elizabeth, of Hudson, Fla. and Vivian, and her husband, Gary Janosco, of Fort Fairfield.

She was predeceased by her father, Ernest in 1955; and a daughter, Renee, in 1960.