Lois M. Lafreniere

SENECA, SC – Lois Mae (Hayward) Lafreniere, 84, a longtime resident of East Barre, died December 7, 2022,  at Cottingham House in Seneca, SC.

Born August 5, 1938 in Northfield, she was the eldest child of Ray and Lillian (Moody) Hayward. She graduated Northfield High School in 1956 and Mildred Elly Secretarial School in Albany, NY in 1957.

On September 19, 1959, she married Roland R. Lafreniere of East Barre. They built a home and settled in East Barre, where they lived for the remainder of their married life.

Lois was a legal secretary and bookkeeper for the State of Vermont, lawyers in the Barre area, and the Washington County Supervisory Union. In 1983 she and her husband founded Roland’s Mini-Mart on Rte. 302 in East Barre. They also operated The Vermont Snowshoe Furniture Company in East Barre for several years.  Following their retirement, Roland and Lois spent winters in Florida and summers at home in Vermont. Roland passed away in 2008. Lois moved to Seneca, SC in 2018 to be near her family.

Lois enjoyed tending her flower gardens, knitting and spending time with her dearest friends in the Barre area. In recent years, she found comfort in spending time with her family on the lake and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Prior to moving to South Carolina, she volunteered for several years with friends in the Barre Rotary Club picking up trash on the streets of Barre every Thursday evening in the summer. Between 2013 and 2022 she knit and donated over a thousand pairs of children’s mittens to the Barre Salvation Army for their annual Coat Drive.

Lois was predeceased by her husband and best friend, Roland; a daughter, Leanne Sue; sons Joseph Robert and Joseph Roland; her brothers Roger and David Hayward; sisters Joan Barsalou and Judee Hayward, and her parents.

Survivors include her daughter, Lori and son-in-law, Paul Jean, of Seneca, SC; grandson, Nicholas Jean of Belmont, NC; granddaughter, Brittany and her husband Tyler Lacy of Charlotte, NC, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A graveside memorial service honoring Lois will be held on Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 1pm in the St. Sylvester Cemetery in Websterville.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cottingham Hospice House, 390 Keowee School Rd. Seneca, SC, 29672, or to the Central Vermont Humane Society, PO Box 687, Montpelier, VT 05601.