ASHLAND AND EAGLE LAKE, Maine – Rella B. Labbe, 91, died peacefully Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at a Fort Kent healthcare facility. She was born July 27, 1926 in Eagle Lake, a daughter of the late William and Viola (Laferriere) Furlong.
After graduating from Fort Kent High School in 1943, Rella began college at Fort Kent “Normal School” and was a substitute teacher at local elementary schools while completing her teaching education. She married the love of her life, Norman C. Labbe, in 1946, and relocated to Ashland in 1957 to teach full-time in Ashland schools. She retired in 1984 after 27 years of dedication, and she delighted in many past students visiting her Ashland home to express their pleasure being in her classroom. Rella was an enthusiastic morning walker and would sometimes accomplish 8-10 miles a day. Her cookies and sweets were an annual delight for her church’s bake sales. With her skilled, nimble fingers, she loved knitting and crochet, and shared all her scarves, bonnets, mittens, and doilies with church bazaars, family, friends, and nurses and residents of CrossWinds Residential Care Center. Though rarely a moment to herself, she did enjoy a nice cup of hot coffee while watching soap operas or solving crypto-quip and sudoku puzzles.
She is survived by two children, Carol Labbe of Wallagrass and William “Bill” Labbe and his wife Pam of Tampa, FL; two sisters, Elizabeth “Betty” Tardiff and Elsie Dubay, both of Eagle Lake; a brother-in-law, Norman J. Labbe of Eagle Lake; and many nieces and nephews.
Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of 70 years, Norman C. Labbe in 2016, her young daughter Mary Elizabeth Labbe in 1963, four brothers and three sisters.
Relatives and friends greeted the family 6-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at Lajoie Funeral Home, 114 Exchange St./PO Box 39, Ashland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 3443 Aroostook Rd., Eagle Lake. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. To share condolences online, please visit www.LajoieFuneralHome.com
