Joseph Gagnon
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts — Funeral services were held March 8 at Wilbraham Funeral Home, Wilbraham, Massachusetts for Joseph Paul Gagnon, 87, who died March 2. Burial followed in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Tinkham Rd., Springfield, Massachusetts.
Paul was born on April 26, 1929, in Fall River, Massachusetts, the fourth child of Roland and Cecile (Lemieux) Gagnon.
He grew up in Worcester and Rutland, Massachusetts. He served in the Air Force for 20 years, and was stationed in the continental United States as well as Hawaii, Wake Island, South Korea, and Japan. He retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant and returned to New England, where he worked in the printing business, eventually becoming the proprietor of the Elm Tree Press, in Woodstock. After retiring, he moved to Western Massachusetts. He earned a B.A. from Westfield State College in 1997 and continued to take graduate-level courses after earning his degree.
Paul leaves his wife, Barbara J. Sweeney; and four children, Frank, Marilyn Smith, James, and Deborah Conger, all of Tucson, Arizona; as well as eight grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren; six siblings: Jacqueline Plante, of Tiverton, Rjode Island, Jeanne Johnson, of Auburn, Constance Reese, of Marietta, Ohio, Lorraine Thomas, of Longmeadow, Rachel Fry, of Southwick, and Mariette Demarest, of Sacramento, California.
He was predeceased by four brothers, Roger, Andre, Roland and Norman; one sister Susan; and his grandson Dustin.
Paul had a great love of life and people. He loved American history, baseball, cooking for family and friends, and listening to music and stories on the radio.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Trustees’ Fund of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, 110 Cherry Street, Holyoke, MA 01040 or National Public Radio at www.npr.org.
This obituary will also appear in the March 9, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.
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