Martha Ethel (Kalicicki) (DeForest) Fleury was born on August 20, 1923, in the Town of Oxford, NY. She passed away on Sunday, March 6, 2022, at the Chase Home in New Berlin.

She married Douglas DeForest of New Berlin in 1945. They had 2 children, Thomas N. DeForest and M. Louise DeForest. She and Douglas divorced in 1978. He died in 1997. She married Walton Fleury of Massena NY in 1979. He died in 1998.

She was predeceased by her parents, Ethel Irene (Meeker) Kalicicki and Thomas Anthony Kalicicki; a sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth (Richard) Crandall; a brother and sister-in-law, Walter (Adeline) Kalicicki; brothers-in-law, Earl Stratton,  Pat LaBarbera; a son-in-law, Mark Braunhut of AZ; a step-son, Richard Fleury of Massena.

She is survived by two sisters, Josephine Stratton of AL and Margaret LaBarbera of ME; a son, Thomas DeForest of Endicott NY; a daughter, M. Louise (Dan) LaDolce, of AZ; step-sons Wayne (Anne) Fleury of Massena NY and Gary (Cheryl) Fleury of East Davenport NY; 12 nieces and nephews; Grandchildren Kathleen Percival of Fulton NY, Kimberly (Donald) Cusimano of VA, Nathan (Lisa) Braunhut of MN, Sarah (Stephen) Cupples of AZ and Beth (Sarah) Braunhut-Lau of AZ; Great-Grandchildren Aidan, Moira and Kiernan Percival of Fulton NY, James and Natasha Cusimano of VA, Ethan and Mark Braunhut of MN, Avery and Harper Cupples of AZ.

Martha attended St. Paul’s Parochial school in Norwich through the 8th grade, graduated from Oxford Academy & Central School (class of 1940), and Binghamton Business Institute in Binghamton. Before she was married, she worked for Dr. Martin Jacobi in Norwich and the Norwich Pharmacal Co. She was a homemaker and self-employed seamstress for many years.  Then she worked for the New Berlin Central School as a long term substitute Home Economics teacher, the New Berlin office of the National Bank & Trust Co of Norwich and W. T. Grant of Norwich. She worked at and retired from the South New Berlin Central School. She was also the director of the Senior Site in NB for a number of years. She made crafts for many years and she and Walt enjoyed taking them to craft shows in the area.

Her proudest achievement was being on the committee in 1956 that met with the bishop to form St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church in New Berlin and assisted in acquiring their current building at 24 North Main Street. She also worked in the office there for a number of years.
Since 2012, she has been a resident of the Chase Memorial Nursing Home in New Berlin where she enjoyed crocheting, making plastic canvas items and giving them away to friends.

Her family would like to thank the staff of the Chase Nursing Home for the good care she received for the duration of her stay there.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the New Church Building Fund, St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church, 24 North Main St., New Berlin NY 13411.

Calling hours will be from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, March 12, at the Dakin Funeral Home, LP in New Berlin, followed by a service at St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church across the street at 1 PM.