Eva B. Lavoie

It is with great sadness that the family of Eva Lucille Blakslee Lavoie announces she passed away in Littleton, New Hampshire on June 25, 2024, at the age of 93.

Eva was born in Whitefield, New Hampshire on August 6, 1930, to Herbert Blakslee and Claribel Curtis Blakslee. She was a proud and beloved sister to eight siblings in a large farming family, who remained close to each other all of their lives. In a world where people remember how you made them feel, Eva shared her love freely and widely with everyone she knew, met, and loved.

From a young age, Eva took on a maternal role, learning to bake and cook at just 11 years old to support and feed her family. She was renowned for her culinary skills and was famous among the family for her peanut butter fudge, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin whoopie pies, and “that damn cake” for the annual Blakslee family Christmas Eve gathering. Berry picking was one of her favorite pastimes, as was making and sharing jam. She passed on many recipes and her passion for baking to her family.

Eva was an extremely hard worker from childhood, tending to farm chores and caring for many animals, but she also carried a playful spirit throughout her life. The best memories of her childhood include playing with her siblings, kicking the can with her family, skating in the winter, and sliding in the snow. For many, many years, she enjoyed attending church and meeting up with her family afterward on Sundays. She was stylish and always dressed well for every occasion.

Eva enjoyed school immensely, attending Dalton Elementary School and graduating from Whitefield High School. She participated in plays and musicals and played basketball. She lived a very active lifestyle, going for daily walks. A loving grandmother, Eva attended many school sports games and events for her grandchildren. She enjoyed ending each day with ice cream, a glass of red wine, and peppermint patties.

In her later years, Eva found joy in spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as knitting, gardening, reading, singing, making blanket forts, puzzling, playing hide-and-seek with her grandchildren, attending church and the annual silver tea, and volunteering with the Red Cross Blood Drive.

Eva cherished summers at the Blakslee homestead in Dalton and parties or family gatherings at Ida’s camp at Forest Lake. She spent every summer at the lake, playing cards - especially “Eva’s Game”. She loved the July 4th fireworks and boat parade. She kayaked around the lake well into her 80s and enjoyed watching and listening to the loons. As the family matriarch, she was often the historian, documenting events with her digital camera and saving newspaper clippings.

She was a farm girl who overcame many adversities in her life with hard work, love, and friendship. Eva led much of her life as an independent woman traveling all over the world. Her passport has received stamps from all over the world, including the Yukon, Australia, New Zealand, Rio de Janeiro, Tahiti, Italy, Acapulco, Ireland, Jamaica, Haiti, Bermuda, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Paris, the Bahamas, Turkey, Greece, Croatia and cities like San Antonio, Sacramento, Austin, Anchorage and more. She loved sending postcards, sharing photographs from her travels, scrapbooking, and creating photo albums to remember her trips, especially those taken with her friends and family.

Eva held several jobs over her lifetime and enjoyed her work immensely, working at Gilman Paper Mill, Sylvania Plant, Notch View Restaurant, Ruggles Supermarket, and Norton Pike.

Eva married Niles Lavoie on March 26, 1954, in Dalton, New Hampshire. Eva was predeceased by her husband, her sisters, Berta Holden, Helen Blakslee, Marjorie Couturier, and her brothers Ralph Blakslee, Charles Blakslee, John Blakslee, and her nephew, David Holden.

She is survived by her sister, Ida Blakslee and her brother, Robert Blakslee; her son, Jay and Kathy-Jean Lavoie, their daughter, Katie Lavoie and her husband, Graeme Sargent; her daughter, Linda and Steve Pennock, their sons, Aaron Pennock and Monica Mendoza, Sam and Jessica Pennock and their children, Ciara and Autumn Pennock, and Harrison Pennock; her son, Glenn and Kimmy Bean Lavoie, their daughters, Kally and Hannah Lavoie; her son, Kurt and Kathy Lavoie and their sons, Stephen, Nathan and Hayden Lavoie, and his family Shannon Mooney, Katelynn and Emily Piper, and Eva’s great-grandchild, Alayna Lavoie.

A celebration of life will be held at the Dalton Congregation on August 17th at 10:00 am. A grave site service will immediately follow at the Johns River Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Glenn Lavoie for a future, more permanent memorial bench to be dedicated in her name and honor. Call for details: 603-444-2182.