Florentine Louise Motta (nee Laliberte), 91, passed away in Brevard, NC on September 21 after a long struggle with dementia. She lived the first 85 years of her life in Fall River and Somerset/Swansea. She was a member of St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea.
She is survived by a son, William Agrella, of Asheville, NC, a daughter, Sharon Dubois, of Worcester, Mass, brothers Albert Laliberte and Pete Laliberte of Somerset, and a sister, Rita Otocki of Tiverton, Rhode Island, as well as by five grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and her great-grandchildren.
Tina, as she was known, was the fourth child of ten, and her extended family was the focus of her world her entire life. Her parents were Joseph Napoleon Laliberte and Eva Rose Martin Laliberte, French-Canadian through and through. Her third husband, Roger Motta, died in 1999. Tina worked as a seamstress in Fall River and later as a nurse’s aide at Charlton Memorial Hospital. She loved her work in nursing, but her attention to housekeeping, laundry, and yard work was also legendary. Work was her respite in a life that was often hard, but she loved us all. Somewhere an off-color joke is being told and Tina is laughing loudly without restraint.
Her funeral will take place from the Manuel Rogers & Sons Funeral Home, Inc. 1521 N. Main St. Fall River on Wednesday at 10:00 A.M. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Dominic’s Church, Rte. 6 Swansea at 11:00 A.M. Interment will be at Nathan Slade Cemetery in Somerset next to her second husband William DiCesaro. Calling hours on Tuesday from 5-7 P.M. www.rogersfuneral.com.