Millicent de la Rochefoucauld, the Duchesse of Doudeauvile, a former longtime resident of Lakeside, passed away September 25 after a long illness, at her home in Gaillard, France. She was 92.
De la Rochefoucauld was born in 1921 in Yokohama, Japan. Her father was English and stationed in Yokohama with the British Navy.
At the outbreak of World War II she and her sister were living in Hong Kong. They fled to the Phillipines where they were eventually interred in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. She was rescued 33 months later, reportedly on the same day she was scheduled to be shot.
Her first husband was Charles Nesbitt of California, founder of Nesbitt’s orange drink.
She married her second husband, Armand de la Rochefoucauld, in Switzerland in 1957, just month after meeting him in Paris.
The couple made their home in Paris, where Millicent ran a gift and decorating shop on Place Vendome.
They later moved to Palm Beach, Florida before settling in Lakeside in the early 1980’s.
Armand de la Rochefoucauld passed away in 1995. Millicent stayed on in her home in Ajijic until 2004.
She is survived by her daughters Cheryl Nesbitt of Paris, France, and Lise de la Rouchefoucauld Ribes of Geneva, Switzerland.
Thomas Stephenson
Seven-year Ajijic resident Thom Stephenson passed away recently following injuries sustained in a fall at his home. He was 95.
Stephenson served the Ajijic community in many ways during his sojourn here, writing regularly for the Lake Chapala Review and other local periodicals. He often gave money to a local orphanage, and was a part of the founding of Lakeside Presbyterian Church along with his good friends, Wayne and Wanda Vincent.
Stephenson is survived by his two sons, their wives, daughter, her husband, and six terrific grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in the United States. If you wish to remember Stephenson, donations can be made in his memory to the Olympic Animal Sanctuary, 1021 Russell Road, Forks, Washington, 98331, or through its website: olympicanimalsanctuary.org, a non-profit animal rescue founded and directed by Stephenson’s grandson.