HERKIMER - Lauretta Manion, 97, of Church Street, passed away peacefully on Thursday morning, April 10, 2003, in Valley Health Services Inc. She was born Feb. 2, 1906, in Bath, a daughter of the late John W. and Helen (Meath) Martin. Raised and educated in Mount Morris, she went on to the Teachers College of Geneseo, graduating with the class of 1927. After graduation, she moved to Herkimer and taught elementary education. In July 1933, she married John T. Manion in Mount Morris. In 1934, after seven years of teaching, she retired to raise her family of four children After a loving and devoted union of 18 years, Mr. Manion passed away in 1951. In that same year she returned to teaching fourth grade elementary classes and continued for 20 years before retiring in 1971. For several years she taught evening immigration classes to help people obtain their citizenship. She was a member of St. Francis de Sales Church, Herkimer.Lauretta was an avid reader, including reading the New Yorker faithfully from cover to cover each week. She also enjoyed playing bridge within her large circle of friends. She gloried in the presence of her family and always looked forward to her holiday travel visits with her expanding family. All who knew her will remember her quick wit, her very active mind and wonderful discussions regarding current events. She will be greatly missed by her friends and family.Surviving are her son, John Manion and his wife Nelda Ann O'Neil of Castro Valley, Calif.; two daughters, Kathleen Hughes and her husband Anthony of Belmont, Mass., and Ann Kahn of Glastonbury, Conn.; one sister, Helen Martin of Canandaigua; seven grandchildren, Daniel Kahn of Carrboro, N.C., Sarah Abt and her husband Doug, Michael Hughes of San Francisco, Calif., Kathryn Hughes of Fontainbleau, France, Valerie Courtney and her husband John of Seattle, Wash., Greg Manion and Priya Manion, both of Tacoma, Wash; two great-grandchildren; a daughter-in-law, Jayasri Ghosh of Tacoma, Wash.; and a nephew, John Martin and his wife Betty.Besides her parents and husband John, she was preceded in death by her son, Richard in 1977, a brother, Harold Martin and her son-in-law, Morris Kahn. Funeral service from Fenner Funeral Home Inc., 115 Court St., Herkimer, will be held Monday at 10:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. in St. Francis de Sales Church, Herkimer. The Rev. Mark Cunningham, pastor, will officiate. Mrs. Manion will be laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery.The family will be present in the funeral home to receive relatives and friends on Sunday evening from 5-8 p.m. As an alternative to sending flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Saint Francis de Sales Church Bell Memorial Fund or the Basloe Library. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.