Arline G. Martel

SANDWICH - Arline G. Martel, 85, of Vittum Hill Road, died June 14, 2011, at home.

Born in Laconia on Jan. 27, 1926, she was the daughter of George and Anna [Chabot] Pelchat and the second of four children.

She grew up in the Laconia area and attended Sacred Heart Catholic School. She also attended the Nicolette Convent in Canada. She left after a couple of years, fluent in French. She returned home and helped to raise the other children even after she had met her future husband at a dance hall in Laconia. She had been a resident of Sandwich since 1953.

In her early years she worked at the former Belknap Mill in Laconia, making socks. She had many stories about her days at the mill; the heat, the needles always getting stuck and being allowed to go to work at 17 because they needed help due to the war.

In her later years she worked with her husband on the poultry farm and assisted him with his rural mail route.

She was a communicant of St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church in Meredith.

She was predeceased by her husband of 51 years, Raymond James Martel, in May of 2004.

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IN HER LIFE: She is survived by her son, James R. Martel, and his wife, Jennifer, of Sandwich; grandson Benjamin F.; sisters Bertha Swett of Franklin and Lorraine Vangeal Warfield of Laconia; many nieces and nephews; and sister-in-law Joanne Martel of Moultonborough. She was predeceased by two siblings, a sister, Rolend Cote, and a brother, Ernest Pelchat.

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SERVICES: Calling hours will be at the Mayhew Funeral Home, Routes 3 and 104, Meredith, on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held during calling hours at 7:30 p.m. Deacon Michael Guy of Holy Trinity Parish in Plymouth will officiate. Burial will be held in Little Pond Cemetery, Sandwich, at the family's convenience.