SACO — Therese Delage passed away peacefully at her home at Huntington Common in Kennebunk in the very early morning hours of Feb. 4, 2023, just five days before what would have been her 91st birthday.
Therese was born on Feb. 9, 1932, to Albert and Beatrice (Metayer) Gilbert at home in Biddeford and grew up on Tasker Street in Saco, which, 80-plus years ago, was largely undeveloped land. The family got fresh milk and eggs from their cows and chickens and Therese had fond memories of her childhood “on the farm.” She was proud of her French-Canadian heritage, learning French, which was spoken at home, as her first language. She attended Notre Dame De Lourdes, a private Catholic school in Saco, and was a lifelong member of Good Shepherd Parish, adding her soprano voice to the choirs of both Notre Dame De Lourdes and Most Holy Trinity churches.
Therese married her beloved husband, Raymond Delage of Biddeford, in 1952. Early in their marriage they moved to Connecticut where they lived for several years before returning to Maine and settling on Hill Street in Saco where they raised their three sons. The hardworking couple purchased land on Route 111 in Biddeford and by their own labor raised the building that would house Delage’s Garage and Body Shop Sunoco Station. Therese was office manager and bookkeeper for the thriving business, which was honored with a Sun Oil Company dealer award and eventually landed the contract to run the Biddeford School System bus fleet.
Homemaking, at which she excelled, was important to Therese. A member of St. Anne’s Sodality, she was a talented cook and seamstress who enjoyed interior decorating, filling her particularly well-kept home with Victorian-period antique furniture and art. She especially enjoyed spending time with her husband and children at the family camp on Bunganut Pond in Lyman, where they would spend summers boating, water-skiing, fishing, and swimming.
Therese was preceded by: her parents; her husband, Raymond who died in 1984; and five siblings, firstborn Marcel Gilbert who died in infancy, Maurice (Rita) Gilbert, Armand (Noella) Gilbert, Rita (Fred) McIntyre, and Bernadette (Charles) Cyr. All were members of the Saco-Biddeford community.
She is survived by: her three sons, Denis Delage and his wife Janice of Saco, Norman Delage and his wife Barbara of Old Orchard Beach, and Michael Delage of Scarborough; five grandchildren, Preston Delage and his wife Hanna of Wells, John Whiteman of East Waterboro, Adam Delage of Old Orchard Beach, Amanda Doyle and her husband Arthur of Waterboro, and Steven Delage of Scarborough; three great-grandchildren, Evelyn Delage of Wells and Graysen and Graham Doyle of Waterboro. She is also survived by many cherished nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, from 10 to 11 a.m. with a memorial service from 11 a.m. at Cote Funeral Home, 87 James St., Saco, Maine. Burial will immediately follow at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco. In lieu of flowers, donations in Therese’s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association by mail at P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011; by phone, 800-272-3900; or online, at www.alz.org/donate.
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