1925 – 2016

NORWAY —  Tekla P. LaFrance, 90, of South Paris passed away peacefully on Monday, Jan. 18, at the Norway Center for Health and Rehabilitation.

Tekla was born in South Paris on March 20, 1925, a daughter of Charles and Alma (Ruuska) Whitman.

She attended South Paris schools and graduated from Paris High School in 1942.

She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in South Paris.

Tekla worked as a bookkeeper at Wheeler Insurance in South Paris for 46 years, and retired from the company in 1988.

She is survived by her daughter, Carol Merrill and her husband, Steve, of Norway; two sisters, Vieno Glines of South Paris, and Martha Edgar and her husband, Gordon, of Windham, N.H.; three granddaughters, Terri O’Connor and her husband, Tim, of Bethel, Shelley Baker and her husband, David, of West Paris, and Chrissy Wilcox and her husband, Chad, of Orono; and three great grandsons, T.J. O’Connor, Jarrett Baker and Rowen Wilcox.

She is predeceased by her husband, Francis W. LaFrance, who died on Jan. 2, 1994; three sisters, Annie Thompson, Ida Whitman, and Lempi Thompson; and a brother, Oiva Whitman.

Condolences can be expressed to the family by visiting www.chandlerfunerals.com.