Maxine Lois LaJoie

Maxine Lois LaJoie of Caro, age 87, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at the Tuscola County Medical Care Community. She was born January 24, 1939 in Metamora, the beloved daughter of the late James and Edna (Ball) Simmons. Maxine graduated from Caro High School with the Class of 1958.

In the summer of 1954, Maxine met the love of her life, Robert LaJoie. After three years of courtship, the couple eloped to Sneedville, Tennessee, where they were united in marriage on June 10, 1957, beginning a devoted life together.

Maxine was a woman of determination, never afraid to work hard to achieve what she wanted. For a short time, she was employed in the kitchen of The Tuscola County Medical Care Community, just for some fun money. Maxine was an excellent homemaker who took great pride in her household. She warmly welcomed family and friends into a beautifully kept home with home-cooked meals and her exceptional baking, especially her famous lemon meringue pie.

She thoroughly enjoyed bowling and spent over thirty years sharing the lanes with her friends. Maxine also loved playing cards, especially pinochle and euchre. In later years, she cherished traveling with Robert to Arizona to visit her family, creating lasting memories together.

Maxine will be remembered for her devotion to family and the loving home she created for all who were fortunate enough to gather there.

Left to cherish Maxine’s memory are her loving husband of sixty-eight years, Robert LaJoie; her children, Rick (Lisa) LaJoie and Kelli LaJoie (Mitch Steele); grandchildren, Corey Robert LaJoie and Nicolas Roger LaJoie; and siblings, Betty Baer and Orvil Simmons; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Maxine is preceded in death by three siblings; Alfred Simmons, Glen Simmons, and Winnifred Wilson.

In keeping with Maxine’s wishes, cremation is to take place, and services will be announced at a later date. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider memorial contributions to the Tuscola County Medical Care Community.