Lenore B. Roche, 90

Lenore B. Roche, 90, died after a long illness, on Monday, January 24th, at Indian River Nursing home in Granville, NY.

Lenore, the daughter of the late John and Margaret ( Saunders) Breyette was born in Plattsburg, NY on September 21, 1920. Lenore had one brother, the late Herman Breyette.

Lenore graduated from Whitehall High School in 1938. She later received a Bachelors of Arts from Cornell University in 1942. While at Cornell, she was a member of the Phi Beta Phi sorority. In 1945, Lenore graduated from SUNY Albany with a Masters degree.

On July 6th 1946, Lenore married James E. Roche and enjoyed 39 years of marriage. Jim died on December 11th, 1985.

Lenore had a passion for teaching and taught at several high schools in the local area. She particularly enjoyed her tenure at Whitehall High school where she taught English from 1969-1977. She was beloved by her students for her energy, integrity & spirit. Mrs. Roche was fondly known by students and faculty as “Ruby Red Boots” because of the tall, red boots that were a wardrobe staple.

Lenore believed that a strong, local library system was an important part of a vibrant community and spent much of her life working to ensure that the local libraries were both well attended and funded. Lenore served as a trustee of the Isaac Griswold Library Board (Whitehall Free Library) from 1949-2000. She served as Treasurer for 30 years and was elected President in 1982, providing leadership in that role for 6 years. Lenore was also one of the founders of the Southern Adirondack Library System (SALS), established in 1959. The mission was to establish a voluntary association of public libraries with a common goal to provide the best possible library services to people living in the southern Adirondacks. While working for SALS, Lenore held various leadership roles, including: Secretary, VP and President. SAL currently represents 34 local libraries and celebrated their 50 year anniversary in 2008.
Lenore is survived by her two sons: Brian Roche and his wife Linda of Granville, Pat Roche and his wife Vikki of Whitehall; four grandchildren: Heather Roche and her husband James Olek of Chicago,IL, Holly Roche of Glens Falls, Grace and Jack Roche of Hudson Falls.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at the Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church, Skene Street, Whitehall, New York, on Friday, January 28th at 11:00AM, with Rev. Michael Flannery, pastor, officiating.

Following the mass, a reception will be held at the Roma Restaurant.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Whitehall Free Library, 12 Williams Street, Whitehall NY, 12887.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Jillson Funeral Home , Inc., 46 Williams Street, Whitehall, New York.