Dorothea Slater LaBelle, 98, passed away at her home in Newtown, Connecticut, on February 8. She was born in Hamden on May 10, 1921. She was the daughter of Mr And Mrs Matthew A. Slater. She was married to Rouel H. LaBelle, who passed away in 1976. She is also predeceased by her sister, Marilyn Slater Hine, formerly of Florida, and her brother, Schuyler G. Slater, formerly of Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Dorothea graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1943 with a B.S. Degree in Chemistry and from Yale University in 1948 with a M.S. Degree in Public Health. During World War II, she served with the WAVES. She was a social worker at Southbury Training School until her retirement in 1975. She also received a M.S.W. Degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut in 1965.

Dorothea was a devotee of her profession and her community. She was involved in several local institutions such as the Woman’s Club, the Friends of Music, LARC, and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. She was a lover of nature, animals, gardening, and playing bridge. She was a communicant of both Trinity Episcopal Church of Newtown and the Church of the Ascension in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

There will be a graveside ceremony at 11 am on February 29. She will be buried next to her husband in his native town of Dayville, Connecticut, at St Joseph Cemetery. There will be a memorial service for her in Newtown at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street at 1 pm on May 9. Also, a service for her will be held at the Church of the Ascension at a later to be determined date.

Those wishing to make a charitable contribution in her name may do so to one’s own local animal shelter.

St Joseph Cemetery is located on Hartford Pike, Route 101, Dayville, Connecticut.