Stella M. Letendre

Stella M. (Zela) Letendre died at Mt. Carmel Health Care Center in Manchester, NH on September 11, 2006 from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was born on February 11, 1920 in Manchester, NH the daughter of Michael Zela and Katherine (Lewko) Zela. She moved to Hooksett, NH as a young girl and was a Hooksett resident for nearly eighty years. She married Roger Arthur Letendre on September 9, 1944. She was the co-founder and owner, along with her husband, of Calico House, later known as Great West Trading Company as well as the co-founder and owner of Meadowsett Village. In addition to her beloved husband Roger, family members include a son, Rodger bruce Letendre of Hooksett, three daughters, Sandra Marion of Candia, Deborah Liebel of Hooksett and Pamela Thornton of Hooksett and twelve grandchildren; her sister Mary Williams of Shingle Springs, CA and two brothers, Russell Zela of Manchester and Nick Zela of Manchester, as well as many nieces and nephews. In Her Life Stella was born premature, tiny and fragile and began her life with a fight to survive. It is this feisty spirit by which all who knew her will remember her. She loved life and lived it with a full and generous heart. She was a graduate of Central High School class of 1938 and was proud of the fact that not only did she walk to school from Hooksett every day but that she also had a perfect attendance record for all four years of high school. During World War II she was a riveter at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard working on submarines. She married the love of her life, Roger Letendre on September 9th, 1944. She and Roger bought land on Lake Winnepesaukee in 1949 and together, brick by brick, built a summer home that is still a treasured retreat for the whole family. Stella hosted a multitude of parties over the years for family and friends and was herself the life of the party. In all the years her four children attended school, Stella somehow always found the time to be actively involved in their events, clubs, hobbies and sports. She was a skilled seamstress and created many beautiful and clever costumes for plays and Halloween parties. Stella and Roger were avid square dancers and were President and “co-president” of the Allemande Eight square dance club in Manchester for several years. In 1964 they bought property on Daniel Webster Highway and ran a horse farm as well as re-locating their retail and manufacturing business, Calico House to this location. In 1986 they began construction of Meadowsett Village, a mobile home park in Hooksett. They managed this and other rental properties the same way they did everything, together. Stella has been sorely missed for these last years when she lived away from us all in a nursing home in the silence of her illness. But we will remember her always for the laughter, strength and fortitude she brought us, in her life. She was predeceased by her sister Ann Piaseczny and her brother Peter Zela. Calling Hours are at the Phaneuf Funeral Home, 243 Hanover St, Manchester, on Thursday from 6:30 – 8:30PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 11:00AM at St. Catherine Church, Manchester. Burial will follow at Martin’s Ferry Cemetery, Hooksett. In lieu of flowers donation’s in Stella’s memory can be made to Alzheimer’ Association, 10 Ferry Street, Suite 419, Concord, NH 03301. To view an on-line memorial, get directions or for more information, go to www.phaneuf.net.