Robert DeLaBruere

Danville, VT: Robert P. DeLaBruere, Sr, 79, of Dole Hill Road, passed away on Monday, May 3, 2021 in Danville, VT.

Robert (Bob) was born May 4, 1941, in W. Stewartstown, NH, the first of twelve to Roland and Cecile (Ruelle) DeLaBruere. Bob grew up in Island Pond on the family’s dairy farm and went to Catholic school until the age of ten when he had to begin working full time on the farm. He joined the National Guard serving his basic training in Ft. Dix, NJ. His experience in logging led him to be a union heavy equipment operator and he worked all over New England as well as Florida. Bob built a hunting camp in Newark which became the family home for three years running a generator for electricity.  Hunting was a big part of his life and off season he was in the woods preparing for it. He enjoyed snowmobiling, boating, fishing, and playing the guitar.  He was an excellent baker and absolutely loved pie! A “Man of God, he was born again” 1978 and attended the Wheelock Brethren Assembly.  In 1990 he bought his dad’s gravel pit in Island Pond with his sons, and they aptly named it DeLaBruere & Sons Sand & Gravel. In 2000 he and his wife, Betsy, moved to a Christian community in Frostproof, FL. He continued to work summers until he suffered a stroke in 2014. Within a short time, he became Betsy’s loving and patient caregiver as she developed dementia over a period of 7 years. Bob was a great dad and a wonderful grandfather. He enjoyed taking his grandchildren to Sunday School in his 15-passenger van.

Survivors include his children; Lisa DeLabruere of Inverness, FL, Roberta (Eric Lucier) Jordan of Stowe, VT, Robert DeLaBruere, Jr of Island Pond, VT, Andrea DeLaBruere of Essex, VT, Rhiannon (Yong Huang) Esposito of Danville, VT, and Isaiah (Billie) DeLaBruere of Island Pond, VT; his step-children, Steve (Kerrie) Smith of North Carolina, Christine (Steve) O’Rourke of St. Johnsbury, VT, and Mathew (Donna) Smith of Lyndonville, VT; his siblings, Claude and Joanne DeLaBruere, Armand and Dawn DeLaBruere, Richard and Lisette DeLaBruere, Pauline and Eugene Sage, Diane and Fred Jackson, Claire and Ray Fontaine, Yvette and Gary Hadlock, Yvonne Ovitt, Leonard and Linda DeLaBruere, Roland and Tammy DeLaBruere, and Katherine and Brian Maxwell; 31 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Robert was predeceased by his parents, Roland and Cecile DeLaBruere; his wife, Betsy (Ronan) DeLaBruere on October 14, 2018, his former wife, Judith Sloan, their infant daughter, Shelia, and grandson, Anthony Lee Esposito.

Services will take place at 11AM on Saturday May 8, 2021 at the Tempson Barn, 695 Town Farm Road in East Burke with Elder Jim Sanders officiating. Burial will be private at Lakeside Cemetery in Island Pond, VT at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Robert’s name can be sent to Compassion International, 12290 Voyager Parkway

Colorado Springs, CO 80921 www.compassion.com/donate

Memories and condolences may be shared with family at www.guibordfh.com