ANDREE P. ORANTES

  
ANDRÉE PERRAULT ORANTES  
Passed away peacefully on August 25, 2014, at the Capital Caring Halquist Memorial hospice in Arlington, Virginia, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her loving husband of 65 years, Cesar A. Orantes of Alexandria, Virginia; her devoted children and their spouses Diana and Ralph Embree of Fairfax, Pierre and Teresa Orantes of Jacksonville FL, and Sandra and Kirk Jones of Colorado Springs; grandchildren, Erik, Dan, Sara, Justin, Nicole, and Alex; and relatives in Canada, Guatemala and the U.S. Andrée was born on April 23, 1920, in the village of St. Anselme, Québec, Canada, to Dr. Etienne and Yvonne Perrault. She was one of eight siblings, who all predeceased her. Her family's deep roots in Québec date to the 1600s. Andrée moved from Québec City to Washington, DC. in 1946 to work for the Belgian Embassy. It was here that she met her husband who was stationed at the Embassy of Guatemala. They married in 1949 in Québec City. Since 1950 they have maintained their residence in the DC metropolitan area, living for the last 54 years in the Fort Hunt area of Alexandria. Andrée's facility for languages led to her working for a number of years in the languages department at Intelsat, where she revelled in the opportunity to travel around the world. She later worked for the World Bank. Andrée was an avid gardener who spent many hours tending and enjoying her backyard garden, which was a haven for birds, rabbits, turtles and deer. For many years she was an active member of the French Circle, an informal gathering of Northern Virginia French speakers.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday September 12, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 8710 Mt. Vernon Memorial Hwy, Alexandria VA 22309. Interment in St. Anselme, Canada, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Capital Caring, 2900 Telestar Court, Falls Church VA 22042.