Anita LaVictoire

CHIPPENHOOK--Anita Carleton LaVictoire, known as "Tucky," died April 18, 2007 at her home, after a long fight against cancer.

She was born January 22, 1935 in Rutland to Arthur and Mina (Moore) LaCross. She graduated from Rutland High School in 1952 and married Russell Allen Carleton, a car mechanic from Chippenhook. They had four sons and a daughter.

While raising her children, she attended Castleton State College, from which she graduated with a teaching degree. She taught elementary school classes in West Rutland for 23 years and retired in 1993 to care for her husband, who suffered from a heart condition.

Following her retirement, she and her husband moved permanently to their cottage on Lake Bomoseen, where they had for many years enjoyed the community of friends who surrounded them. Following his death in 1994, she continued to enjoy her greatest pleasures: sewing and quilt-making, decorating, refinishing furniture, reading, and spending time at the lake with friends and family.

After suffering a stroke a few years later, she recuperated in Randolph with family members and later married Thomas LaVictoire, a retired used car dealer. They divided their time between Lake Bomoseen, Chippenhook, and Ft. Myers, Fla., as well as taking trips to Hawaii and Alaska and across Canada and America.

Survivors include her second husband; a son, Russell Allen Carleton, Jr. of Garrison, Texas; three sons: Maxwell, Terry, and Duane Carleton, of Chippenhook; a daughter, Dawn Carleton Walters, of Randolph Center; and her children's spouses, Linda, Carleen, Shelley, Sally, and Jonathan. She is also survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Amy Wilson and daughters Mercedes and Payton; Katie Carleton, Duffy and Sam Carleton; Molly Wyman and daughter Maggie; Ashley, Tayler, and Jay Carleton; and Camden, Seth, and Allegra Walters. Her nieces and nephews provided kindness and laughter in her remaining years (especially at the much-anticipated "ladies luncheons"), and she had many stepchildren, step-grandchildren, and step-great grandchildren through her second marriage.

She was predeceased by her first husband, Russell Carleton; and three sisters: Frances (Tootie) Waterman, Florence (Arlene) Accavallo, and Thelma (Shima) Phillips.

A private graveside ceremony was held Tuesday, April 24 at the Riverside Cemetery in Killington.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Clarendon Church and Hall Association, of which she was an active leader: c/o Maxwell Carleton, 120 McCarthy Lane, West Rutland, Vt. 05777.