Bernadette Delaware

Bernadette Delaware, 87, finished her walk of life on Friday, October 14, 2016 in Kirksville, MO. The daughter of James and Esther Gilson, she was born April 27, 1929 in Gardiner, Maine. On November 15, 1947, she married Lewis Delaware at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gardiner, and to this union, six children were born.

She is survived by her children, Rosemary Stauff and husband, Michael of Boston, MA, Dana Delaware and wife, Sarah, of Kirksville, MO, Beth Boyle and husband, Michael, of Canaan, NH, Bernadette Michele “Micki” Delaware and husband Jonathan Gordon, of Redwood City, CA, Lee Hornor and husband, Richard, of Framingham, MA, and Shawn Delaware and wife, Sheri, of San Diego, CA, eleven grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, her sister, Charlotte Cole, and brother, Robert Gilson. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and their children throughout New England.

Bernadette graduated from Gardiner (ME) High School in 1947. She was active in dramatics, chorus, and drum majorettes. After graduation she was employed as a bookkeeper at the Central Maine Power Company office in Augusta. Upon marriage to Lewis “Lou”, they began a family, and she stayed very busy with homemaking and child rearing. She was active as a volunteer in various PTA, Scouts, and other of her children’s activities. When the youngest began elementary school, Bernadette went to work for Sears Roebuck & Co. as an administrative assistant in the furniture department of the local store, where she worked for over 20 years.

She and Lou moved with his career at IBM to Waltham, MA, and then to Poughkeepsie, NY. After retirement, they moved back to Farmingdale, Maine, where she was active in the local AARP chapter, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church activities, and the Four Leaf Clover Senior Citizen’s group. Bernadette was a serious “crafter” and was noted for her seasonal wreaths. Reading was a lifelong source of enjoyment, as was creating tasty recipes for her family. Her special enjoyment in later life was her grandchildren, and she was known for creating individualized surprises and treats for them.

While living in Missouri, Bernadette regularly kept up-to-date on news from her home state by reading the Kennebec (ME) Journal newspaper daily. She was known by all for her love of hearing a good joke, as well as her humorous retorts. When asked where she would like to go out to dinner, she would reply, with a twinkle in her eye “on the coast of Maine at Shaw’s Lobster Wharf”.

The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Highland Crest Assisted Living Center and the Twin Pines Adult Care Center in Kirksville, where she lived for the last three years of her life. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Adair County (MO) Public Library, or to the Resident’s fund at Twin Pines Care Center in Kirksville.

In Kirksville, family will receive friends at the Davis-Playle-Hudson-Rimer Funeral Home from 6-7pm Wednesday (October 19, 2016), followed by a prayer service and rosary service at 7pm. On October 26, 2016, there will be a wake at Staples Funeral Home, Gardiner ME. A Mass of Christian Burial is planned at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Gardiner, Maine, on Thursday, October 27, 2016, followed by burial in the Famingdale ME City Cemetery.