- Born
- 1922
- Died
- 1974-03-30 · Holy Cross Catholic Church
- Spouse
- Joseph “Bussy” LaFreniere
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- communityhealthcare
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Alberta M. Gronke LaFreniere (1922–1974) married Joseph “Bussy” LaFreniere (Joseph “Bussy” LaFreniere) in Chicago on November 18, 1961, after which the couple spent a two-week honeymoon on Beaver Island. In August 1973 the Beaver Beacon reported her hospitalized at Jackson Park Hospital in Chicago after a slight stroke, and the following month reported her home on Beaver Island. She died at their island home on March 30, 1974, at 51, after eight months of illness following brain surgery for a tumor; the paper reported that a group of island women cared for her around the clock in her final months and that, though paralyzed and unable to speak, she remained aware of her surroundings, watching the harbor and the schoolchildren who waved to her from her bed.
Evidence and limits
The cemetery index supplies her maiden name and lifespan. The wedding notice
and the 1973–74 hospital and obituary notices consistently identify her as
Joseph “Buzzy”/“Bussy” LaFreniere’s wife, which is the identity bridge; one
1973 item misspells the surname “LaTreniere,” an OCR or typesetting variant
kept in alt_names rather than silently corrected. The obituary’s account of
her final months is a published, sympathetic community report rather than a
medical record, and no source gives an exact diagnosis or surgery date beyond
“a Chicago Hospital.”
Open questions
- None outstanding beyond a medical record, which no held source supplies.
See also
Kin
The dated record
Sources
- Reports Alberta, Mrs. Joseph “Buzzy” LaFreniere, as a Jackson Park Hospital patient after a slight stroke.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Mrs. Joseph “Buzzy” LaTreniere (Alberta) home on Beaver Island after a Chicago hospitalization.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
- The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the combined September–October publication; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports her November 18, 1961 marriage to Joseph (Bussy) LaFreniere in Chicago, followed by a two-week honeymoon on Beaver Island.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports her death at her Beaver Island home on March 30, 1974, at 51, after eight months of illness following brain surgery in Chicago for a growing tumor. Paralyzed and unable to speak, she was cared for around the clock by a group of island women and, the paper says, remained aware of her surroundings, watching the harbor and the schoolchildren who waved to her from her bed. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery; see [[event/funeral-of-alberta-lafreniere-1974]].data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists Alberta M. (Gronke) LaFreniere (1922–1974), married to Joseph M. LaFreniere. The 1961 wedding notice and the 1973 newspaper references to Mrs. Joseph “Buzzy” LaFreniere provide the identity bridge.
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Alberta LaFreniere”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/alberta-lafreniere/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, August 1973, “Local News.” (and 6 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.