December 8 1933 January 9 2022
Priscilla’s Obituary Priscilla Grace De Arman, passed away on January 9, 2022. She was born in Sanford, Maine, and grew up in a home with three siblings. Notable events of her childhood include significant historical events tragic as well as pivotal in the history of this country. At the age of three her mother succumbed to TB, and at the age of nine Pearl Harbor was bombed and the US entered WWII. These tragic events shaped her character; adjectives which easily applied to this lovely lady include: courageous, pragmatic, loyal, energetic, hardworking, tenacious, frugal and incredibly wise. In her very early years, Priscilla’s father remarried, and she and her siblings were raised by their stepmother, whom Priscilla recalled with fondness. Every summer, the children were sent in shifts of 2 to spend two weeks at her maternal grandmother’s home, likely to give their stepmother a break as well as to allow the children quality time with their maternal grandmother. The children helped their “Mémère Morin” in the store and learned how to “keep a home”, which included learning how to clean, bake French deserts and basic meals. Priscilla always went with her brother Leo Jr, nicknamed ’”Torchy” for the color of his hair, and then her two sisters Dolores and Pat would go during the alternate two weeks. One particular memory which Priscilla once shared was of the delicious donuts made by her Mémère Morin: during the winters as her Grandmother was boiling maple syrup on the stove she would take pastry dough and drop it into the boiling syrup thus making glazed donuts for the children. She also recalled her favorite meal, Boston Baked Beans which was always a Sunday night meal. Of note, Priscilla grew up in a French-speaking home and English was a second language. During grade school, she attended Catholic school and the nuns were notorious for monitoring the children to encourage only English at school. Priscilla once spoke of the difficulties of adhering to this language requirement, with a smile she recalled how often during recess she and her sisters and friends would bend the rules and speak French on the playground. As a teenager, Priscilla and her sisters would save their allowance to pay for gasoline and ask their brother Torchy to drive them places as they were not allowed to go out unchaperoned with friends. Priscilla participated in the St. Ignatious High School Glee Club, the only extracurricular activity her father would allow. This sparked a lifelong enjoyment of music and singing, participating in church choirs as well as the National Sweet Adelines. Priscilla was very loyal in her friendships and maintained a lifelong friendship with Ruth Bland of Maine, who was her first boss when she worked as a telephone operator in her early twenties. She married her first husband Dennis Violette at age 18 and had two sons David and Michael. One of the most memorable trips she and Dennis took included a drive down the eastern coast from Maine to Florida in a ‘ragtop’ car. She recalled her excitement at the idea of driving with the top down the first day of the drive, she was fair skinned and the sun and windburn they both experienced was a story she retold years later; needless to say, the top stayed up the remainder of that holiday. In the early 1960’s, Priscilla moved to San Diego, California, and met and married her second husband Russel De Arman, they had her third son, Russel De Arman, Jr. in 1966. When Priscilla was asked at her 50th High School Reunion what she was most proud of, she wrote, “raising three sons and seeing them happily married with children”. Some of her favorite hobbies included sewing, quilting, golf, tennis, card games, jigsaw puzzles and gardening. She was a member of the Sweet Adelines and loved to sing in the choir as well as on stage. Some of her memorable moments include a ‘hole in one’ on the #3 hole on The Oaks Course at Champagne Village in Escondido, California, on September 27, 2001. She was an avid volunteer and was thanked for 2000 volunteer hours for Palomar Medical Center. She was also a lifetime blood donor, type O negative and saved many lives. Far and above, she was a proud mother, proud grandmother and she loved to “do” for her family. She taught her daughter-in-law the finer points of sewing as she effortlessly produced all sorts of dresses and pajamas for her grandchildren. She also taught her granddaughter to knit and often on long road trips enjoyed singing. Most especially she loved baking deserts. She will be fondly remembered with every batch of Christmas cookies, as her recipes seemed to encapsulate the magic of the Season. The sweet aroma of toasting Bishop’s bread signaled time to open gifts, every pan of calypso bars, peanut butter blossoms, and oh so many other warm memories of food and love. She will be long remembered, forever missed and for those of us who were lucky to have known her, we are better people because of her. She is survived by her three sons their spouses and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren all whom will miss her dearly. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm, Friday, January 14, 2022 at Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Chapel on Yorktown with a Rosary to be recited at 6:30 p.m. that evening. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, January 15, 2022 at St. Pius X Catholic Church. To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Priscilla Grace De Arman, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store. Read More
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Priscilla Grace De Arman December 8 1933 January 9 2022.
Death notice for the town of: Casey, state: Illinois