Thelma May Ventura La Pierre was born on May 4, 1928, at home on Newell Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Emmanuel “Van” Ventura and Claire Baddock Ventura. Her father, originally from Provincetown, came from a family that had lived there for generations. While on leave in London after the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France, he met Claire at a USO dance.
    Claire was glamorous—tall, slim, and beautiful. She grew up in London, England with her parents, eight sisters, and two brothers. She and Van corresponded for two years after he returned to Provincetown, and when he proposed, Claire crossed the Atlantic on the great passenger ship Mauretania. During her journey she read a book titled Thelma, A Swedish Princess, which inspired the name of their third daughter.
    When Thelma was four, her father built a bungalow for the family in rural Sturbridge. She and her two older sisters, Gladys and Vivian, were raised there. Sadly, Van developed tuberculosis from exposure to mustard gas in WWI and was mostly confined to a sanatorium until he passed away when Thelma was eight.
    Although life was difficult for Claire and her three girls, they managed. They received Van’s disability check, and the girls helped by babysitting and contributing their earnings. During his healthier years, Van had helped many people become U.S. citizens, and in gratitude, those families helped Claire and the girls with rides and outings.
    Thelma loved to explore the attic of their bungalow—rummaging through her father’s things: old books, leather pieces for making wallets, and bottles for homemade root beer. She could sit at the small attic windows and daydream for hours, or play house with her friends and their rubber dolls named “Toodles,” which they’d bathe in the brook on warm days.
     Her early schooling was in a one-room schoolhouse in Sturbridge serving grades one through eight. When her sisters went off to school, Thelma followed and sat by the window listening until the teacher finally let her in—making her a first grader at age five. She was advanced to second grade the next year and graduated from Mary E. Wells High School at sixteen. Too young to apply to nursing school, she began working in the office at the American Optical Company in Southbridge.
      Claire often returned to England on the RMS Queen Mary, and the girls spent summers with their grandmother and Aunt Mary in Provincetown. Thelma fondly remembered swimming at Herring Cove Beach, walking home through gardens fragrant with honeysuckle, and sitting in her Uncle John’s rumble seat singing all the way to the shore.
      Many boys she knew joined the military at 17 during WWII—including Ray La Pierre, whose family had lived near hers on Crane Street. After the war, a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. Thelma thought Ray was neat and kind, with a nice smile and eyes—and he loved classical music. Their three-year courtship led to marriage on May 24, 1948, at St. Mary’s Church in Southbridge.
      Thelma and Ray had three children—Michelle, Mona, and Curtis. They lived with Claire in Sturbridge before building their own home on Roosevelt Drive in 1956, one of the new National Homes built for returning GIs. The neighborhood was filled with young families and children.
       Thelma raised her children to be honest, kind, and open-minded. She believed all people were equal regardless of color or religion and said the world would be better without narrow-mindedness. Her advice on parenting was simple and heartfelt: “Trust and respect them, don’t use bad language, and just love them.”
       As her children grew older, Thelma returned to work. Two young doctors hired her as a medical assistant, where she thrived under the guidance of an older nurse. Her skill and compassion enabled her to find employment in Boston at Tufts Medical Center, in Anchorage with doctors and an ambulance service, and later in Hyannis.
      Ray, having inherited Wholesum Bread and Aline’s Baked Goods after the war, later changed careers and joined the National Park Service in 1972. The couple moved to Philadelphia, then Boston, and finally Alaska—where they spent eight years. Thelma’s adaptability and curiosity flourished with each move.
      After Ray retired in 1978, they traveled back to New England in a camper van, crossing southern Canada. They first settled in Harpswell, Maine, then moved to Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod, a place they both loved deeply. Their Cape Cod home became a warm hub for friends and neighbors, always filled with projects, laughter, and music.
      Thelma was employed for several years with an ambulance service and volunteered in the town assessor’s office. She attended Cape Cod Community College’s Continuing Education Program nearly every semester—feeding her love of learning. She served actively in St. Pius X Church groups, raising money for the Food Pantry, which became her signature charity. She also volunteered at the Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop, sometimes bringing home more treasures than she donated. For ten years, she served as a hospice volunteer—one of her most rewarding roles.
       Ray and Thelma traveled to Portugal, Italy, and Canada, and took Elder Hostel tours across the United States. Every year she looked forward to the Cape Cod Community Orchestra season. She was always helping her neighbors and believed that service was the path to happiness.
       When Ray passed away in 2003, Thelma continued her active and generous life. Eventually, as maintaining her home became difficult, she moved to Brookdale Eddy Pond in Auburn, MA, and later to Matulaitis Nursing Care in Putnam, CT, to be closer to her daughter Mona.           Even in her later years, Thelma remained true to her nature—kind, friendly, generous, and cheerful. Her philosophy was to be positive, outgoing, and tolerant, with a willingness to serve others.
       She passed away peacefully on October 26, 2025, while living at Matulaitis Nursing Care.
       Thelma leaves behind her three children: Michelle Darnell (Arizona), Mona McCabe (Jim, Connecticut), and Curtis La Pierre (Lisa, Washington); eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Ray, sisters Vivian Sheehan and Gladys Chase, granddaughter Sarah, and great-granddaughter Suzanne.
       The Viewing will be on November 7th at 9:00 a.m. at Hallet Funeral Home in South Yarmouth. A Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Pius X Church, with burial at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, where she will rest beside her beloved Ray.
       In closing, it’s fitting to share her own words, slightly edited for humor and love: “The achievement that I am most proud of has to be that I have raised three children who have grown into beautiful, responsible, and kind human beings. I am so proud because years ago they were caught up in such rebellion—running away from home, the drug scene, free love, hitch-hiking from here to California, etc. I feel that it was an achievement because I must have instilled something in them in their early years. I remained fairly sympathetic towards them in the teen years and tried to be understanding even when I found out that we had marijuana and not green beans growing in the backyard. It is wonderful today to have a reunion with them; although still painful to bring up some memories, they tell me that I thought they were the rottenest kids in town. They really weren’t; they were just like all my friends’ children.”
       What more can such fortunate children say, than that they hope to live up to their mother’s example.

Dearest Aunt Thelma, you were always our favorite, the FUN aunt! Thank you for many fond memories. Love from Cindy & children, Tim & Sue ❤️