Olive Mary (Paquin) Lamancusa

Olive Paquin LaMancusa, 92, passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2016. Born in Akron, Ohio on May 7, 1924, she was the daughter of Jacob Paquin, an immigrant brewmaster from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France and Mary Huber of Akron, Ohio. The couple settled in Akron where Olive's father opened a fledgling company called NORKA Beverage Company on Spicer Street. In 1924, Jacob sold his first case of NuGrape soda pop on the day his daughter, Olive was born.

She attended and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy where she was VP of her senior high school class. After graduation, Olive attended St. John's Academy in Cleveland, Ohio where she obtained a nursing degree. During her nursing school days, she formed and maintained very close friendships with a number of fellow nursing students. These relationships were kind, caring, and supportive throughout her entire lifetime. On November 17, 1945, Olive married Albert LaMancusa in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Albert served in the Lighter than Air tour of duty and was a Navy Veteran of WW II. Albert and Olive were married for 67 years. Olive fondly remembered vacation highlights from a trip she and Albert took to Italy after their children were grown.

Olive is remembered as a sweet, loving, and generous mother of eight children, who also raised her grandson, Carmelo. She was a petite woman who was at home in her kitchen, where she devotedly prepared hundreds of family meals and hosted many holiday feasts. She entertained as many people as she could fit around the tables in her home. Roasted turkeys and home-made lasagna were her specialties. Olive also loved to bake so holidays and birthdays became special occasions for her whole family. There were home-made birthday cakes and specialty cookies that she baked and distributed for Valentine's Day and Christmas, and every Easter, there were popcorn lambs for her children and grandchildren. Her entire family appreciatively looked forward to these traditional treats. Every year, Olive affectionately remembered and sent birthday, anniversary, and seasonal cards to every one of her grown children, their spouses, and her grandchildren. It was not unusual for her to lovingly tuck money into those cards as a small token of her love. Her home was always open to "invite just one more". She never knew a stranger, and she welcomed all with open arms. Olive greeted all with a warm smile, a generous spirit, a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. Over her lifetime, Olive made many personal sacrifices, often forgoing her own wants and needs in order to make sure that her children and grandchildren felt special and felt loved.

She also enjoyed sewing for her children. She was an excellent seamstress, a talent she inherited from her mother who supported four children by making wedding dresses when Olive's father died. Olive was 10 years old when her father died. Olive's mother purchased a piano for her children and encouraged them to play. She became an accomplished pianist after taking piano lessons from an European concert pianist. Olive took lessons from a very early age and found great pleasure in playing classical music. One of her favorite pieces was "Clare de Lune". Olive attributes her success to her mother's making her "practice all the time". Inspired by her own experience, Olive encouraged her children to take piano lessons. Several children took lessons from their mother's piano teacher. However, these children admitted none of them ever played as well as their mother, Olive. Later on, Olive worked several years as a nurse in the infirmary at Our Lady of the Elms mother house in Akron. This was a part-time position where she lovingly cared for the Dominican sisters, many of whom were her former teachers.

Olive was a devout Catholic who lived most of her life in Tallmadge, Ohio where she attended Our Lady of Victory Church.

Olive was preceded in death by her husband, Albert; son, Albert; brother, Jerome Paquin; and sister, Delores Overfield.

Olive is survived by daughters, Nancy (Don) Shook of West Lafayette, IN, Judy (Mike) Tschantz of Ann Arbor, MI, Susan LaMancusa of Tallmadge; sons, Jack LaMancusa (Cheryl) of Silver Lake, Martin LaMancusa of Munroe Falls, Richard (Judy) of Tallmadge, Philip (Alicia) of Doylestown; grandchildren, James, Robert, Jonathan, David, Don, Dana, Anthony, Christopher, Amelia, Audrey, and grandson, Carmelo, whom she raised; great grandchildren, Hannah, Abigail, Ethan, Mason, Elena, Annelise, and Vivian; sister, Pauline Davis of South Carolina; daughter-in-law, Claudia of Wadsworth.

Visitation will be 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. Friday, October 7, 2016 at the Donovan Funeral Home, 17 Southwest Ave. (on Historic Tallmadge Circle)

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, October 8, 2016 at Our Lady of Victory Church, 73 North Avenue, Tallmadge with Rev. Michael Matusz officiating.

Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.