Edward Joseph LaRose

Edward Joseph LaRose was born in East Putnam (Killingly or Bayville), Connecticut on November 21, 1894. Death May 1967. Social Security number 045-09-6802 My grandfather Edward Joseph LaRose eyes sparkled with his sense of humor and at others times with a sincere face loved to play practical jokes. One of his favorite crude pranks to those of us who were innocent, perhaps gullible and not worldly, would fall-hook-line-and-sinker to his convening story. Grandfather a storyteller would weave a believed yarn about injuring his hands with callused fingers working in the textile mill. He used his hands flourishing to express his yarn, giving those listening time to observe his work-swollen hands as if he was using them as a sign language. At the end of his story, he would stick out one of his gnarled fingers and say; “Could you pull this finger hard to loosen the joints so it will stop hurting me?” The person would reach out and pull the pointing finger, at the same time my grandfather will let loose a loud fart followed by hysterical laughter. The more embarrassed the person became the more my grandfather would laugh and sometimes would double over laughing about to fall out his favorite chair. Those of us around him, who had fallen for his joke would catch my grandfather’s contagious laugh and laugh along with him. My grandmother Alphonise and my mother would shrug their shoulders shaking their head with dismay disgusted with my grandfather. I often wondered how my grandfather timed the pulling of the finger and letting out a fart at the same time. My mother told me stories of how my grandfather loved to clown around and pull all sorts of jokes on her dates; some were his stand byes and others were new ones. One of his favorite antics was to turn around from her date and suck his gut in causing his pants to fall down showing his backside. Without any doubt every new date my mother or her sister brought home received the drop the pants ritual to her embarrassment or he would use new pranks on those who came before. Then there was the old finger trick in which my grandfather would have the young man or whoever pull his finger. In the fifties, my grandfather introduced his all-time favorite of showing off his gall stones to all who visited the LaRose household. The gallstones were kept in a glass jar stored under the kitchen sink ready to be pulled out for the next visitor. Joseph liked nothing better to show off his gallstones. Sometimes he would hike up his shirt to show his operation scar all the while making a joke out of his gall stone operation. The figure and pants routine was my grandfather’s favorite prank and he never tried of playing this prank on any unexpected persons well into his later years of his life. Society with its norms, innocents and taboos of the 40’s and 50’s provided the framework for my grandfather the jokester who loved to laugh and make those around him laugh, I remember one summer, when I was in grade school we were traveling to the Connecticut seashore in grandpa’s large black four door car when a white large bird probably a seagull flying high above the car relieved itself of fecal matter splatter across the windshield making it almost impossible for my grandfather to see while driving. Leave it to my grandfather to come up with one anecdote after another about the dirty windshield causing us to laugh so hard until our sides ached. My mother (Theresa) did not think it was funny and aired her displeasure with all of us, especially her father. My grandfather had a typical large French nose, which allowed him to perform one of his favorite antics to his grandchildren. During a festive mood when he had the attention of his grandchildren, he would take out his false teeth and start making faces at them. We would make faces back at him to the enjoyment of all. At another time he would say, can you touch you touch your nose with your tongue? When he had an interested audience, Grandpa would take out his false teeth and stick out is tongue until it touch the tip of his nose. We would all try to touch our nose with our tongue without any success. Source: Anthony Fronczek grandson memories. My grandfather was a man full of fun and I enjoyed our family frequent visits to Putnam. He enjoyed laughing and made those around him laugh with him. He always seemed to make live enjoyable for those around him by making incidents in life fun to laugh at until he passed away in May of 1976. Edward Joseph and Alphonsine Theresa (LeClair) LaRose Edward Joseph LaRose married Alphonsine LeClair on July the 4th, _______ at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Putnam, Connecticut. La Rose, Edward & Alphonsine 1940's on Smith St, Putnam, Ct, in front of woolen mill..jpeg Alphonsine LeClair born July 21, 1894, the seventh of nine children was born in Putnam, Connecticut on July 21, 1894, the daughter of Prosper LeClair and Exilida (Beaudoin) LeClair. Prosper (born 1848) and Exilida were born in Gramby, Quebec, Canada. Edward and Alphonsine had three children Dorothy Mary (born March 10, ____) Theresa Alphonosine and a son Camille (born in June 15, 1928). All of the children were born in Putnam. Larose, Edward, Alphosine & Daughter Dorothy 1956 aba Theresa the second daughter of Joseph and Alphonsine LaRose was born on December 15, 1918, at home on 56 Smith Street. Theresa attended St. Mary’s Catholic School starting at age six and then attended St. Mary’s Second High School until the eight grades. Theresa went to work in the cloth textile mill with her mother and father. Theresa mother Alphonsine worked as a weaver and her father Joseph worked together in the same mill. After a family disagreement, my parents did not visit my grandfather in my teen years. However, I do remember before the disagreement after his retirement, my grandfather and grandmother though their life on earth was over. On one visit to my grandparents, they took us down to St. Mary’s cemetery to show off their grave site and tombstone. It was a big event for them in showing off where they would be buried. Being a young teen, I found it upsetting for me as I loved them dearly and not to mention the shock to my mother. After that time, it appeared they just wanted to die. It was not long after that ordeal that my grandmother passed away. As with a number of families there was a family disagree as to who got what. My mother was upset about some keepsake she was promised, but her sister took it instead and other trivial family disagreements. We did not visit my grandfather after that. My uncle Camille remained living at the house taking care of my grandfather. A year later my grandfather passed away. My parents were in Florida at that time, leaving Edward and myself bearing the responsibility of attending my grandfather’s funeral. I was unable to reach my parents and if I did, they give me the impression they were not interested. At least that was what it appeared to me, would have not be interested into going to my grandfather funeral. At least I though it was to my mother and family. Being 16 or so with a younger brother Edward, we attended the funeral. It was quite an ordeal for us as we made up a story line of why we were unable to reach them in Florida.