MADAWASKA – Claude J. Albert, 97, died Nov. 8, 2005, at a Madawaska residential facility. He was born Aug. 9, 1908, in St. Hilaire, N.B., Canada, the son of Joseph and Hermine (Belanger) Albert. Mr. Albert was a longtime resident of Limestone where he and his second wife, Therese, raised their children and operated a trailer park and boarding facility while he worked as a civilian employee at Loring Air Force Base. Subsequently, they traveled in Maine and New Hampshire where he worked as a pipefitter for a number of years until his retirement. He was a hard worker and required as much of others. Being a union pipe fitter made him proud and defined somewhat where he fitted in this world. A few years before retirement, he established residence in Madawaska where he spent the rest of his life. Being a hard worker, he devoted most of his time to picking fiddleheads in the spring, wild fruits in summer and pickling in the fall. His family, friends and acquaintances benefited from his generosity and from the fruits of his labor. As a sport, he enjoyed fishing and bowling until his health no longer permitted it. He lived independently until well into his 90’s. Mr. Albert was a member of Pipefitters Union, Local 716, a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 2638 of Madawaska and a former member of the Madawaska bowling league. He is survived by three children, George Albert and his wife, Madeleine, of Mildenhall, England, John Albert of Raymond, N.H. and Theresa Lauchman of Telford, Pa.; two sisters, Blanche Belanger and her husband, Vilmon, of Edmundston, N.B., Yvette Beaulieu and her husband, Lionel, of Millinocket; five grandchildren, Claudine, Michelle, Denise, Mark and Kelly; six great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews including an especially special niece, Claudette Cyr and her husband, Don, of Madawaska. Mr. Albert was predeceased by his first wife, Sadie Picard, in 1943; and by his second wife, Therese Daigle, in 1980; by five brothers, Patrick, Leonide, Paul, Alyre and Henri Albert; and by three sisters, Clauda Martin, Raymonde Laplante, and Germaine McCoy. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Friends and relatives may call at the Daigle Funeral Home from 9 a.m. until time of services. Interment will be in the parish cemetery. Contributions may be made in his memory to the St. Thomas Aquinas Church Memorial Fund or to the Edgar J. Paradis Cancer Fund. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.
CLAUDE J. ALBERT
