Lauretta (Cole) Buddelmann

Lauretta Flanagan King Buddelmann, 105, died October 23, 2016 at Carriage Hill Assisted Living, Madbury, NH. She was born Loretta Ester Perry in Peru, NY on July 10, 1911, the daughter of George H. Cole and Grace Elizabeth Carter Perry. At a young age she was left at the Boston Home for Little Wanderers and adopted at age three by Alice and William Caldwell of Malden, MA who renamed her Lauretta Alice Caldwell. William Caldwell died two years later. Eventually she had to leave school to care for her ailing mother who died when Lauretta was sixteen. For the next five years she worked as an in-home maid or caregiver. She graduated from Malden Evening School (8th grade) and the Warren School of Beauty Culture. During the Great Depression she married Henry Peter Flanagan and they had two sons, Henry Peter Flanagan (1933-2007) and Robert Paul Flanagan (1935). Poverty at times forced the separation of the family and the parents divorced in 1940. Henry Sr. died during World War II while serving in the Pacific Theater. At the age of 24 she found her biological parents and discovered she had four step-brothers and a step-sister with whom she established lifelong friendships. She was especially close to her mother and youngest step-brother Douglas. In 1941 she married Edwin William King of Malden, MA and later that year gave birth to Edwin Jr. The family moved to Center Strafford, NH in 1944 and a daughter Louise Ellen was born in 1946. Widowed in 1977, she became engaged to John Valleton of Rochester, NH who died in 1981. In 1983 she married Martin L. Buddelmann who died in 1988.

For many years she was an active member of the Strafford community. She served as President of Ladies' Circle, now called the Ladies' Christian Society, and for ten years led the Smiling Mountaineers 4-H club. Her pies were a favorite at church suppers, the proceeds of which purchased an electric organ for the Third Baptist Church. In 2010 the Town of Strafford presented her the Boston Post Cane in honor of her being its oldest citizen.

Having grown up on the Caldwell farm, she enjoyed gardening all her life and continued making jam until she was 103. She especially loved flowers. She learned to embroider as a girl and enjoyed it as long as she was able. She loved shopping for just the right greeting card and always included a note. Some of her happiest moments came from her enjoyment of ballroom dancing.

After obtaining her driver's license when In her forties, she was a very successful manager with Tupperware, Inc. for over twenty years and maintained friendships with her colleagues for decades afterward. Waitressing was her favorite occupation. As a young woman she worked at Perry's Restaurant and Chickland in the Boston area and later in life at Johnson's Dairy Bar in Northwood, NH. Despite being home-bound in her later years she remained interested in the outside world. Just weeks prior to her death, she was planning to vote, reading the paper, and maintaining an interest those around her. She always had a smile, appreciated whatever you did for her, could crack a joke, tell a great story and looked for ways to help others. Her legacy will be evident whenever a kindness is passed on to others.

Home and family were central to her life. Survivors include children: Robert Flanagan (Pauline Ternan), Dover, NH; Edwin King (Brenda Boutwell), Boscawen, NH; and Louise Chagnon (Ron Garvey), Troutville, VA; special friend whom she considered an adopted daughter: Mitzi Bilodeau (Dan), Barrington, NH; grandchildren: Linda Jean Flanagan, Lisa Flanagan Shimek, San Antonio, TX; Sean Flanagan and Mark Flanagan, Houston, TX; Robert Flanagan Jr. (Shannon), Nashua, NH; Maureen Flanagan McDaniels (Mark), Beaumont, CA; Tofer Chagnon (Christine), Annandale, VA; and Tryst Chagnon (Ari Kirschenbaum), Raleigh, NC; as well as great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

She was predeceased by her biological and adoptive parents, step-sister Dorothy Perry, step-brothers Raymond Perry and wife Eileen, Rev. James and wife Irene, Douglas and wife Jean, Robert and wife Elizabeth, husbands Henry P. Flanagan, Edwin W. King Sr. and Martin L. Buddelmann, fiancé John Valleton, sisters-in-law Doris King Berry (William) and Lillian E. King, brother-in-law Kenneth K. King (Katherine) and niece Bonnie Berry Wiseman.

Special thanks to Strafford neighbors Lester and Bertha Huckins and their daughter and husband, Cindy and Joe Cushing, for years of caring help and to the staff and residents of Carriage Hill who made her last six months full of fun, laughter, and friendship.

A private memorial service was held at Carriage Hill and a public memorial in Strafford spring of 2017. Donations in her memory may be made to Hill Library, 1151 Parker Mountain Road, Strafford, NH 03884, Cornerstone Visiting Nurse Association, 178 Farmington Road, Rochester, NH 03867, or a favorite charity.