Danna de Rochefort, 86, of Chester, was passionate gardener, outdoor enthusiast

Danna de Rochefort, of Chester, loving mother, grandmother and friend, died peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, on Dec. 3, 2017. She was 86.

Mrs. de Rochefort was born on July 21, 1931 in Thompson, Conn., to Dr. James Edward Breslin and his wife Adeline Breslin, née Devereaux.

She grew up in Pittsfield, Mass., where she attended public schools through the eighth grade and completed high school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Albany, N.Y. She attended St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1952 with a degree in philosophy.

After graduating, she moved to New York and became a social worker for the New York  Foundling Hospital. She married Jean de Rochefort, a banker with the Irving Trust Co., in 1955 and spent the next decade living abroad in Laos and Hong Kong before settling in Stamford, Conn.

Mrs. de Rochefort had many interests. Active in sports, she especially loved tennis and skiing. Adept at bridge, Mrs. de Rochefort was a frequent player. Gardening was also a longtime passion. While in Stamford, she volunteered for many causes in the community and was politically active, at one time a delegate to the convention for presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy.

In 1980, she moved permanently to Chester, where the family had a property, and became a substitute teacher in Chester public schools.

Mrs. de Rochefort is survived by her five children: son Marc de Rochefort of Toulouse, France, and his children Tristan and Simone; daughter Ghislaine de Rochefort of Washington, D.C., and her children Maximilian and Sebastian; son Pierre de Rochefort of Geneva, Switzerland, and his children Leila and Nicolas; son Laurent de Rochefort of Woods Hole, Mass.; and daughter Alexandra de Buy Wenniger of Topsfield, Mass., and her children Isabella, Carolina and Ciaran. She is also survived by her sister Susan Breslin of Folly Beach, S.C.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the First Universalist Parish, North Street, in the Stone Village of Chester.  In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Vermont Land Trust.