Sources |
- [S5] Obituary.
St. Albans Messenger (VT) - Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Deceased Name: Paul L. Gamache
SWANTON - Paul Leo Gamache, a long time local businessman and owner of the Welden Theatre, died at home unexpectedly Jan. 5. He was 81 years old.
Paul was born in Burlington on Sept. 20, 1931 to the late Theodore and Fernande (L'Ecuyer) Gamache.
Growing up in Winooski in the 1930s as one of 10 children, Paul was no stranger to hard work and strong family values.
On April 2, 1951, he married Celey Handy of Burlington and they moved to St. Albans to start their family. Paul and Celey owned and operated the Welden Theatre, the Bellevue Theatre, the St. Albans Drive-In and the Midway Drive-In in southern Vermont and the Claremont Drive-in in New Hampshire along with other business ventures.
Paul and Celey shared more than 41 happy years together. Paul was a devoted husband and cared for Celey during her long illness until her death in 1992.
In 1994 he was blessed to find another wonderful woman, Marianna Ruggiero-Conforti of Florida and New York. They married Jan 6, 1995 and shared a happy 18 years together traveling and exploring both here and abroad.
Paul was a natural born storyteller, bringing to life his family history of cold mornings delivering bread with his father, the summers spent on his Pepe's farm in Canada with his brother Jimmy and harvesting ice on the lake in Newport. He loved the movie theatre business and could talk for hours about the early days of the industry and all of the characters he met along the way, embellishing them as only Paul could. Anyone who knew him can probably recall one of his tales and smile!
His family, his French-Canadian ancestry and his Catholic faith were all very important to him. He had a generous spirit. He was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.
He leaves his wife Marianna; his children: daughter, Mary and Edward Schumer, daughter, Lili Gamache and former son-in-law, James P. Smurro, daughter, Paula and Jeffrey Carlson, son, Anthony and Lillian Gamache, and Marianna's daughter, Elizabeth, his "adopted" daughter, whom he loved very much, and fiancee, Kenneth Landry. He was proud to be Jiddo to his loving grandchildren Celey and Bram Schumer, Clio Smurro and Paul, Dante and Maria Gamache. Brothers: James and Theresa Gamache, Jerome and Mary Gamache. A sister, Andrea and Palmer Irish. And many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, wife, Celey, sisters: Annette Gamache, Claire Burdick, Theresa Payea, Reina Aussant. Brothers: Clement Gamache and Richard Gamache.
A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Mary's Church in St. Albans on Friday, Jan. 11 at 11:30 a.m. and will be officiated by Father Benedict Kiely.
Visiting hours will be Thursday, Jan. 10 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Brady and Leveque Funeral Home, Main St, St Albans.
A private burial will be in the spring.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at the funeral home website: www.bradyandlevesque.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the following organizations of which Paul was involved would be appreciated: Knights of Columbus (St. Albans and Swanton), Martha's Kitchen (St. Albans) Vermont Right to Life (Franklin County) and Laurie's House/Voices Against Violence (St. Albans).
Arrangements are entrusted to the Brady & Levesque Funeral Home and Commemorative Services.
|