Obituary : Leonora Pauline Bettencourt
Leonora Pauline Bettencourt of Edgartown died at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital on Wednesday, March 10, at the age of 93. She was predeceased by her husband, Edwin A Bettencourt. She is survived by two daughters, Judith Bettencourt of Edgartown and Norma Stanton and her husband, Richard, of Edgartown and Florida; three grandchildren, Timothy Stanton and his wife, Laurie, of Cohasset, Brian Stanton of Marblehead and Julie H. Armstrong and her husband, Jeff, of Kingston; four great-grandchildren, Riley, Grace, Hadley, and Andrew of Cohasset; her devoted friend Wanda Williams of Edgartown, and four sisters and many nieces and nephews off Island.
Mrs. Bettencourt worked many summers at various places on the Island before moving here to make a home for her family. She ran her own business, catering, cleaning, and caretaking and babysitting for many year-round and summer Edgartown residents. When her crew left a job it was spotless and sparkling.
Along with her business life she was an active member in the community. She was a teacher of the religious education classes for St Elizabeth's Catholic Church and also a member of the St. Elizabeth's Church Guild. Mrs. Bettencourt was awarded the prestigious Marian Medal for her outstanding service to the Church.
She was a member of the Martha's Vineyard Ladies Auxiliary Post 186 for many years. In later years, as she started to slow down, she became one of the Edgartown Council on Aging's "Light House Quilters". Their beautiful works were donated to the Christmas bazaars. Another thing that she took great pride in doing was working as the ballot clerk at many of the local, state, and federal elections. She loved handing out the ballots to all the new voters and seeing her old friends.
Her favorite hobbies were rides around the Island or sitting to read at the Bend in the Road or the Landing. She read the Boston Herald and the Cape Cod Times every day. She loved having her grandchildren spend their summers with her, either visiting or later when they worked at various summer jobs.
Traveling was a high spot in her later years. Leonora, Judith, and Wanda called themselves the Traveling Trio & Klancy (Leonora's faithful dog). The Trio made several trips to Walt Disney and she enjoyed them all. They traveled to Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head, Savannah, Arlington, Va., and all the New England States. She was very impressed by the pomp and ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. But at the end of each trip it was always back to her home on the Vineyard that she loved most.
Her Funeral Mass was celebrated in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs and burial followed in the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown on Tuesday, March 16. Donations may be made in her memory to the Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 399, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or to the Animal Shelter c/o County of Dukes County, P.O. Box 190, Edgartown, MA 02539 (write Animal Shelter in the memo line). Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. Please visit www.ccgfuneral-home.com for online guest book and information.
