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We sincerely appreciate all of you being here. It means a lot to our family. Dad is definitely looking down on all of us and saying to himself, “Wow!”
We’re doing exactly what dad wanted. He wanted a mass with plenty of music. He wanted to make sure we ate and had fun.
Dad, or Pop, as we called him, was a husband, grandfather, uncle, brother, nephew, cousin, co-worker, coach, friend, golfer, bowler, card player, announcer, storyteller… a father.
He was a simple man of simple needs – all he needed was his truck, lawn mower, set of golf clubs, a deck of cards, his boat, and a friend or two to be with. He was an important part of an amazing family and community. All of us are truly blessed by God to have had him in our lives.
He loved his wife. He teased her, too, but Mom let him know when he got out of line. Forty years of marriage is proof of his love and faithfulness. He committed his life to us and showed us devotion to work, children, family, and friends.
He taught us honesty. He taught us etiquette on the golf course. He taught us how to do things the right way. He taught us sportsmanship on the ice. He taught us how to be a team player. He always reminded me; an assist was as good as a goal, if not better. He was a coach to some of you and he was our coach too.
He was also a proud man. Proud of us. Proud of his grandchildren. Proud of his community. Proud to be a Maine-iac. Proud to be a Veteran. Proud to be an American.
He never wanted to be in the spotlight, never cared about getting credit for things he did. I think that is why he loved announcing – he volunteered his time up in the booth at football and hockey games, being heard, but not seen. He was as humble as anyone I’ve ever known.
He showed us dedication too. He rarely missed a day of work in 36 years. We always saw him working weekends around the house, helping Mom with that all too familiar “honey-do list.”
He seldom missed our games, even our practices, from youth sports right through college. He volunteered countless hours to youth hockey. We started to think about all the games that he watched, coached or announced, and we stopped counting because it was taking too long.
Even after going off to college, I remember how he came to help Dan and me with our cars, towing them to Maine to fix them, and then bringing them back. He helped us to fix our dorm rooms, apartments and our homes. He loved helping us. He never ‘hemmed and hawed’ when asked to do something, go somewhere…it was either yes or no. If it was yes, he rarely, if ever, changed his mind. If he was asked to do something, he usually said, “Let’s do it.”
He definitely had a love for sports, especially the Waterville Purple Panthers, UMaine Black Bears, and oh yes, the Canadiens and the Evil Empire, the NY Yankees. Dan and I are Red Sox and Bruins fans. So you can imagine the rivalry and misery we had to deal with over the years. He gently, in his own way, would ask, “Hey did you catch the game last night?” knowing full well we knew our teams had lost.
Dad loved golf. He loved his Myrtle Beach trips. We started going with him 4 years ago with our cousin Andy, Uncle Mike and some of his close friends. He even got to see Dan get a hole in one. You can imagine his reaction.
He loved Natanis Golf Course. He had great golfing buddies and was always up for a round at the course with anyone who wanted to join him. He was so proud of helping the Brown family work on the course after he retired. Whenever he took us out to play, he would point out what he and the guys had built.
Dad was a great person…he will be remembered for his wit, smile, laughter, strength and courage; most of you here experienced it, you were part of his life, and loved him.
Jeff and Dan LaPlante
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