Gloria Ann LaFlamme

Gloria A. (Gelinas) LaFlamme, 82, of Monson, Massachusetts, passed away on October 23, 2025 at the Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst. Possessed of a steely strength, she overcame challenges both without and within to lead a rich, rewarding life. At times introspective and measured, at others joyful and spontaneous, she made sense of the world and of herself through reading and deep conversation. The faith that she found as an adult also anchored her, as she sought a closer walk with God.

Gloria was born on December 17, 1942 to Lionel Gelinas and Cecile (Dion) Gelinas in Holyoke. She was just a year old when her birth mother died, and she was raised by her grandmother Aurore Dion until her father returned from his service in World War II. With his second marriage to Eileen (Kelson) Gelinas, Gloria soon became the eldest daughter of a big, boisterous family. After graduating from Springfield’s Classical High School in 1961, she worked her way through college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she also received a Master’s degree in teaching.

Gloria taught for a year in New Canaan, Connecticut before accepting a job at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, where she taught French and, later, Spanish for 37 years until her retirement in 2005. She had a reputation for running a tight ship in the classroom, but not so secretly relished the banter with wisecracking students who kept her young. She continued to develop her craft over time, creating original units on European painting and undertaking a summer of language study in Salamanca, Spain.

In 1966, she met Paul LaFlamme, and they married in 1968. In Paul, she found a partner who accepted her independence without reservation, and she flourished in his love. Once the couple became parents, she poured experiences into their two children, from weekends of theater and people watching in New York to beach vacations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Yet she also carved out space for dinners with friends and fall foliage drives, modeling the conviction that parenthood need not mean giving up one’s own identity.

Like each of us, Gloria had her faults: she could be sharp and stubborn, reflexes that sometimes hid her openness to working on herself and her relationships with others. But she was generous with what she had, and she truly knew how to have fun. A born athlete, she rode her bicycle and played tennis into her seventies, and she often stayed up too late to watch a ballgame go into extra innings. Upon retirement, she became the owner of a full-size RV and traversed the country with her second mother Eileen, even as she always returned to the refuge of the home she had made in Monson. It is these twin impulses for adventure and belonging that mark her legacy.

Gloria was predeceased by her parents and husband. She is survived by her siblings, Linda Sotirion of East Longmeadow; Mark Gelinas and his wife Susan Gelinas, of Ware; June McKie of Agawam; Barry Gelinas and his partner Joanne Sullivan, of Agawam; Allison Gelinas of Springfield; and Robert Gelinas and his wife Rachel Gelinas, of Westfield. She is also survived by her son Marcel LaFlamme and his husband Michael Klein, of Greenfield; her daughter Marie-Claire (LaFlamme) Foley and her husband Sean Foley, of Belchertown; as well as her grandchildren Noah and Audrey.

A private burial was held at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Ware. A memorial service will be held at Faith Baptist Church, 251 Shearer St., in Palmer during the spring of 2026.

Charbonneau Funeral Home, 30 Pleasant St. in Ware is honored to serve the LaFlamme family.