Dolor M. Mallette

Niantic, CT- Del Mallette, a resident of Falmouth, MA for many years, passed away on December 15th at Bridebrook Nursing Home in Niantic, CT. He was born in Leominster, MA on July 2nd 1921 to Eugene and Anna Mallette and graduated from Leominster High School in 1939. Shortly after graduating from high school he enlisted in the army. He met his wife, Nancy G Mallette (nee Baker, deceased in 2001) at a Saturday night dance hosted by the military at Otis Air Force Base. They married shortly after, and Nancy held down the home fort while Del went off to Europe to serve his country fighting for the 181st infantry in WWII.

After the war, Del got a job working as a clerk for the local A&P store. During this time Del spent all of his spare time building his family a home at 36 Richards Road where he and Nancy raised their three children and spent the rest of their life together. He moved up the ranks quickly at the A&P and eventually was made manager of the little North Falmouth A&P store, and then after that, manager of the Falmouth A&P store where he worked for a number of years.

Upon his retirement from the A&P, Del pursued a lifelong dream, to travel the world. He went into the travel business, owning two agencies, Fresh Pond Travel in Sudbury and Salt Pond Travel in Falmouth. This enabled him to travel anywhere he wanted, and travel he did. He displayed in his office a map of the world, which was so big it covered nearly an entire wall. He marked each of his travel destinations with a colored pin on the map, but after awhile, he had been so many places, there was no more room for additional pins. He eventually sold the business in Sudbury in order to concentrate his efforts in Falmouth. When he wasn't traveling himself, he enjoyed organizing memorable vacation trips for his clients.

He leaves two daughters, Cecile Costa (husband Arthur) of New London, CT and Louise Flynn (husband Vinnie) of Miami, FL; a son, Sam Mallette (wife Maureen) of Vienna, VA; and a granddaughter Jenny Mallette also of Vienna, VA. Cecile has devoted much time to her father's welfare over the past 8 years, not only visiting him daily in the nursing home, but overseeing his day to day care as well. Sam and Louise visited frequently from out of town.

Among his favorite activities in the nursing home were having his dog Pebbles come to visit (Cecile kept a supply of doggie treats in Dad's bedside table drawer); talking to friends on the phone (Bonnie, Priscilla, Ted); visiting with his friends Joan and Harry who would bring him wonderful homemade lobster rolls from the Cape and spend the afternoon filling him in on all the gossip from Falmouth; eating Dairy Queen sundaes or fresh strawberries which Cecile would bring him for an afternoon snack; watching old TV movies in the afternoon with Cecile; watching Red Sox games with his son Sam; and just sitting with his daughters listening to them "yak away" talking about old times and new times.

Del's family would like to thank the entire staff at Bridebrook for the exceptional care given to him, for their professionalism and compassion, and for making all of us feel part of the Bridebrook family.

Visiting hours will be held on Thursday December 16th from 5-7 pm at the Fulton Theroux Funeral Home at 13 Lake Ave in Niantic. A funeral service will be held on Friday December 17th at 9:30am at Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Falmouth, MA, where Del was a member of the vestry for many years. Following that service, Del will be laid to rest in the National Cemetery in Bourne, with his beloved wife Nancy who is waiting for him. Please visit www.fultontherouxniantic.com for photos, tributes, and more information.

Donations may be made in Del's memory to the American Heart Association online at www.americanheart.org or mailed to American Heart Assoc., 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701

Arrangements under the direction of Fulton-Theroux Funeral Service, Niantic, CT.