Plan for the Future
Marie-Laure Gilles, 76, of Vailsburg, went home to be with the Lord on March 2, 2020. The Homegoing service will be held at Bradley, Haeberle & Barth Funeral Home, 1100 Pine Ave. in Union on Friday, March 13th from 10am to 12pm. There will be a prayer service at 12pm followed by entombment at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
Marie- Laure was born in 1943 in Jacmel, Haiti, she was the daughter of Monique LeFevre, a woman well-known for her exceptional sense of fashion. Marie-Laure developed a close circle of friends who would become more like family. In December 1963, Marie-Laure sought out a new beginning and immigrated to the United States in her early twenties. She first settled in Queens, NY. Then made her way to New Jersey in 1970 with her former husband Gerard . They bore one daughter, Monica J. Gilles, whom Marie-Laure affectionately called “Nou-Nou”. Marie worked hard as a technician at Clara Maas Hospital in Belleville, NJ for over 30 years. Her coworkers became beloved members of her extended family even decades after her retirement in 2000.
When Marie-Laure became a grandmother to Angela “Angie” Daniels, she often called that period in her life “when she became young again”. Marie-Laure could often be heard boasting about the accomplishments of her daughter and granddaughter and was proud to be at the helm of the three generational unit. In 2016, Marie-Laure became a great-grandmother to Malachi Daniels whom she cared for nearly every day for the first year of his life. Although everyone around him called her Mummy-Laure, on his own he gave her the name “Mama” as a true testament of his love for her.
Marie-Laure had a special way with people. She had the ability to make even strangers laugh and she had a close bond with each one of her friends, having daily phone conversations multiple times a day. She loved her nieces and nephews dearly and cherished her relationship with each of them. Marie-Laure enjoyed spending quality time with friends and family, traveling, playing (and winning) dominoes, and frequent trips to Atlantic City. She looked forward to every holiday but her favorite was April Fool’s Day, she always played a prank on someone. She will be fondly remembered for her constant self-lessness, contagious laughter, delicious cooking, warm kindness and exemplary hospitality.
Marie-Laure is survived by her daughter Monica J. Gilles, granddaughter Angela “Angie” Daniels and her husband Larry Daniels, great-grandson Malachi, her brother Guy Rathjen and his wife Marie-Claire as well as a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins that she loved with all of her heart.
