The heavens opened on September 17, 2016
for our dear Nana, Sally Mausert LaPlante, age 87. She continues on
her spiritual journey without us. There will be an empty spot in our
hearts until we meet again. Sally Mausert LaPlante was born in North
Adams Massachusetts on February 28, 1929. After graduating high
school in 1947, she joined her military father and mother in Japan
for 2 years. When she returned to the states she enrolled in Russell
Sage College. While in college she met her future husband Roger A.
LaPlante, and they were married in August of 1950. They moved to
Irvington NY, and later to Long Island New York where they lived for
7 years, and had 2 children. After her husband changed jobs, the
family relocated to Scotch Plains New Jersey in 1961. While living
in New Jersey, Sally was an industrious homemaker and entertainer
who became legendary among Rogers coworkers for her dinner parties.
She also attended college in the evenings in pursuit of a Psychology
degree, and served as a Girl Scout leader helping her troop earn
several badges. Despite these wonderful times, the late 60s brought
health issues where Sally struggled with clinical depression for
several years. The medicines of the time were primitive, so she
availed herself of the latest experimental drugs and techniques, and
finally emerged fully healed by the mid-70s. After living in New
Jersey for 8 years, her husbands company SFD merged with Varian
Inc., and the family relocated to Beverly Massachusetts in 1971.
They settled in the outer Linebrook Road area of Ipswich
Massachusetts. After the kids left home, Sally went to work in
Ipswich shucking clams. Soon after, she became a lunch lady at the
Ipswich middle school for several years. After 47 years of marriage,
she lost her husband Roger in 1997 to cancer. The next year, after
living in Ipswich for 28 years, she decided to move to California,
along with her beloved cat Teddy Bear, so as to be close to her son
and grandchildren. While living in a beautiful condo in a retirement
community just blocks from her son in Encinitas CA, she became
involved with the family almost daily. She will always be remembered
for her invaluable help and generosity during those days. She was
always thinking of others, planning gifts or outings, and offering
to help with the kids. Little notes and gifts appeared on John and
Julias doorstep almost daily. She was known for never forgetting
birthdays and frequently taking the grandchildren swimming in the
pool at her condo. She would often bring the family spaghetti sauce
to help with dinner. In 2014, her daughter joined the family in
California. With the passing of time, Sally finally moved into a
local assisted living in 2011 where she enjoyed her last years with
her cat Lily Belle. It was very important to Sally that she live in
a facility that allowed pets because she was a lifelong cat lover.
These years were marked by continued close involvement with family
since she remained within a mile of the grandkids. We finally lost
her on September 17, 2016 to natural causes after eighty-seven years
of loving devotion to her family. Her health was strong to the end -
she doggedly survived health issues that would have doomed the
average person - depression,
breast cancer, a broken hip,
several strokes, and years of smoking. She had a great sense of
humor and was cracking jokes until the last days of her life. She
will be survived by her daughter, Nancy LaPlante Boucher Bachmeier,
her son, John Roger LaPlante, his wife Julia, and their three
children, Lindsay, Michael, and Lyra. There are also numerous
adoring cousins, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make
donations to the Sally Mausert LaPlante Memorial Fund with the
national MS Society either online here or by phone at 800-486-9266.
A celebration of life ceremony is scheduled at Cowles Memorial
Cemetery in Ipswich, on July 1, 2017, 10am. A west coast Celebration
of Life ceremony was held at Self Realization Fellowship in
Encinitas CA on October 16, 2016. The immediate family feels that
God has blessed them with an amazing mother and grandmother. Her
life lessons and beliefs will be passed down for generations. May
God give strength to Sallys friends and family during these
difficult times.
