1960 – 2014

AUBURN — Robin Louise Litchfield Dellavalle, 53, of Oquossoc, passed from this world on Sunday, June 8, at Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice after a long battle with carcinoid cancer.

Robin was born on June 29, 1960, in Burlington, Vt., a daughter of Thelma Louise and Leroy Barker Litchfield. At age 2, Robin moved to Cape Elizabeth and attended Cape schools, graduating from Cape Elizabeth High School in 1979. She traveled to Florida, where she was trained to cook, living there for a year, before moving to Burlington, Vt., for four years, where she worked in the restaurant business.

In 1984, Robin came back to Maine to settle in the Rangeley area. She worked as a gardener at The Rangeley Inn for her lifelong friends, the Carpenter family. The job expanded into becoming their breakfast chef and eventually assisting in all aspects of cooking. She relocated to Carrabassett Valley, where she worked at Sugarloaf Inn, The Truffle Hound Restaurant and Arrabella’s Restaurant. Eventually, Robin decided to return to Rangeley and make it her permanent home. She worked at The Rangeley Inn, as one of their chefs. Over time, Robin was invited to collaborate with the new owners of The Rangeley Gourmet and Mercantile as their chef. It was at this job that she was blessed with experiencing love at first sight, meeting her husband, Frank, who quickly became a regular customer.

In 1993, Frank and Robin were married in Rangeley. After their son, Wyatt, was born in 1997, Robin took on the all-important job of being a stay-at-home mom, which she loved.

She was a longtime volunteer in Wyatt’s classrooms over the years and she immersed herself in the community. Robin was a lover of art, music and nature. She loved to sing and played the piano and guitar. Robin was a true artist in every sense of the word. Her beautiful home and gardens, built by Robin and Frank, reflected her artistic talents and she shared her wonderful art creations in numerous mediums. She loved to travel and worked very hard at crossing things off her bucket list.

When Wyatt started school, Robin launched a new career as an assistant at ENS Associates, a local architectural design firm, helping with home design, remodeling and interior design work — a perfect fit for her artistry and imagination.

She sang in the choir at the Episcopal church for many years and will be remembered for belting out “Oh Danny Boy” in an Irish brogue on St. Patrick’s Day in 2011. She was involved with The Diva Show for many years. In 2013, she retired to spend more time with her family.

Her husband, Francesco Joseph Dellavalle IV, and her son, Wyatt Joseph Dellavalle, of Oquossoc, survive Robin. She is also survived by her brother, Terrance Dale Litchfield, of Saco; her sister, Candace Karen Litchfield, of Burlington, Vt.; nephews, Terrance Dale Litchfield Jr. of Marietta, Ga., and Fletcher Francesco Dellavalle of Rangeley; brother-in-law, Joseph Keith Dellavalle and his wife, Renee Dellavalle, of Rangeley; her in-laws, Francesco Joseph Dellavalle III and Robert Alexander, and her grandfather-in-law, Francesco Joseph Dellavalle II, all of Bradenton, Fla.; as well as her cousin, Emerson Wright and his wife, Diana Wright, of Essex, Vt. She will also be greatly missed by all of her many friends, from both near and far, who consider her family.

There is no death, only a change of worlds.

Words of condolence and tribute may be shared on Robin’s tribute wall at www.wilesrc.com.