Ada Mae Moss DeFranceaux

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00am on Thursday, July 27, 2017 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette. Reverend Chester Arceneaux, Rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will conduct the funeral mass. Interment will be held at St. John Cemetery. Ada Mae Moss DeFranceaux, 104, passed away peacefully in Bethesda, Maryland on Saturday, July 8, 2017. Born March 1, 1913 in Lafayette, La, Ada was the youngest of 12 children born to Frank and Rose Aimee Moss. Ada moved to Washington, DC at 19 and worked for her brother George Moss, who was a well-known realtor and developer in Maryland. She fell in love and married George Waldemar DeFranceaux on October 13, 1934. After living in Bethesda from 1934-1948, they moved to 9124 River Road, Potomac, to raise their family. Ada named it Sans Souci (without cares or worries). Ada was very active in many local charities including the Christ Child Society, Merrick Girls’ Camp, The Women’s Guild for Crippled Children, Project Hope, The Ladies Committee for Catholic University’s ‘Theatre Drive’, The Ki-Wives and the Ladies’ Hunt Committee. The DeFranceaux’ were lifetime members of Congressional Country Club, and founding members of the Potomac Polo Club. Ada was especially proud to be a Dame of Malta. She and George (A Knight of Malta) often traveled with the Malta group to take ‘malades’ to Lourdes, France. Many fund-raisers were held at Sans Souci until they sold it in approx. 1968, having already bought over 300 acres with a home on Harris Creek in St. Michaels, Maryland. They kept an apartment and then a townhouse in Washington, DC until retiring full-time to Sans Souci Lagniappe, as the St. Michaels home was called. In approx. 1990, they sold Sans Souci Lagniappe and moved back to Ada’s hometown of Lafayette, LA, where the main street in the now revitalized downtown of Lafayette is named for the family: Moss Street. After George’s passing in 1997, Ada moved back to Bethesda, MD to be closer to her immediate family. Always the life of the party, Ada was well-known for her wonderful Cajun stories and quick wit. She was a wonderful party hostess and they often had parties for “300 of their closest friends.” Their Christmas Day Buffet was well-known in the Potomac set. You were “someone” if you were invited. Ada is survived by her four children, George Jefferson DeFranceaux of Lafayette, LA, Don DeFranceaux with wife Peg of Washington, DC, Dianne Grod of Oceanside, CA and Kay Leonard with husband Jack of Kapaa/Kauai, HI; nine grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 from 5:00pm until 7:00 pm at Delhomme Funeral Home - Bertrand. Personal condolences may be sent to the DeFranceaux family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Ada Mae Moss DeFranceaux

March 1, 1913 - July 8, 2017