Louise F. (Miraldi) LaFontaine

Celebrating the Life of Louise LaFontaine, 95:

Northeastern University Professor, Supporter of the Arts, and World Traveler

Louse LaFontaine died on May 26, 2025 at the age of 95 after a long illness. She has been much loved by her family and her circle of friends, for whom she has been a perennial source of love, joy, and wisdom. Her son, David, and her daughter, Laura, encourage people who knew their mother to remember Louise in their thoughts and prayers. A memorial fund and event will be announced in the future.

Louise was born on June 6, 1929 in Malden, Massachusetts to Frank Miraldi, who came to America from Italy in his youth, and Flora Melconda, a talented designer and seamstress. Louise broke through barriers for women throughout her life, attending Boston University in 1947 where she majored in psychology.

She graduated from Boston University in 1951 and then earned a master’s degree in Comparative Literature in 1953. Her love of learning about literature, art, and philosophy is something she shared with John LaFontaine, whom she met while a student at BU and married in 1953. Their children Laura and David were born in 1955 and 1958 respectively. John became a college professor at Bryant University.

Her son David often observed that his mother was the only person he ever knew to have a total of four college and graduate degrees. Louise earned her second master’s degree, this one in education, from BU in 1968, followed by her Doctorate in education in the early 1970s.

Working full-time as a professor at Northeastern University earned Louise LaFontaine the respect of colleagues and students in education and human services. She worked full-time at Northeastern for 25 years, during which time she supervised the certification of countless teachers in the fields of special education and human services.

Louise made her first trip to Europe in 1973 and fell in love with world traveling. Some highlights of her travels include the following: more than 20 individual trips to England; teaching at Israel College for a month; spending two months living in Norway; visiting the village in Italy where her father was born; and attending plays at the Stratford Festival in Canada, accompanied by her son, David, for five years in a row. Always very progressive in her views, she once remarked: “I am a citizen of the world”.

Her liberal ideals shaped her life in a very personal way when her son David became an activist for gay rights in the late 1980s. Louise decided that the best way to be a supportive parent was to form a local chapter of the national organization then known as PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). With the help of her minister Holly Bell and Unity Church in Easton, Louise formed the southeastern Massachusetts chapter of PFLAG and served as president for nine years.

In later years, following her retirement from Northeastern in 1998, Louise continued developing her creative interests. She wrote poetry, took classes in watercolor painting, went on nature walks, and read extensively. She particularly enjoyed the novels of Jane Austen, the poetry of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, and reading biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Louise and her daughter Laura shared a love for artwork, including drawing and crafts. They enjoyed reading and talking about scripture as well as listening to sacred music.

One of the most memorable experiences of Louise’s life was forming the “Poetry Circle” at the Canton Public Library. The group met monthly for more than five years and brought together people who loved writing and reading poetry. Her dream of publishing several of her poems is being realized through the poem “Forever Harvest” that accompanies this article.

Forever Harvest

By Louise LaFontaine

Each day is a harvest

Not just in the fall

Each day is a harvest

Of moments great and small.

Each day there is giving F

or young and for old

Each day there is giving

Of warmth from the cold.

Each day there is sharing

Love, friendship, and grace

Each day there is sharing

That time shall not erase.

And so if we remember

The harvest lasts forever.

Louise will be remembered lovingly by her daughter Laura, who lives in Florida; her son David, a professor at Massasoit Community College; her niece Theresa Rylko; her cousins Pat and Les Deane; and a large circle of friends, including many in other countries.

A fund honoring Louise’s love for nature and the arts is being established through Mass Audubon. To learn about how to support this fund and Louise’s legacy, please contact: David LaFontaine, 5 Evergreen Circle, Canton, Massachusetts 02021

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