PRESQUE ISLE – Al Bouchard, 87, passed away quietly Tuesday morn-ing, April 3, 2007, at a Bangor hospital, after complications from surgery with family members in attendance. Al was born Nov. 9, 1919, in Presque Isle, the son of George and Leona (Moreau) Bouchard. He graduated from Presque Isle High School and lived his life in Presque Isle and at the family camp on Cross Lake, Guerrette. He served in the U.S. Army Coast Artillery during World War II and saw duty in the Philippines and Japan after VJ Day. Al was employed all his life by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. – A&P, as office manager at the regional offices in Presque Isle, and later at the processing plant in Fort Fairfield. Additionally, Al fondly remembered his summers traveling for the company along the Eastern seaboard during the summer produce packing seasons, in the 1950s. He enjoyed more than 45 summers at the family camp, which served as the family gathering location for all those years. This became even more prevalent in the later years when weeks were shared together with all the family, grandchildren, relatives and friends. Al was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Presque Isle; a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus; a charter member of the Presque Isle Barbershop Chorus; after his wife’s passing, he became a volunteer at the Presque Isle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; and a member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, receiving numerous citations and awards for volunteer service exceeding 500 hours per year. Additionally, Al also served as a bereavement aid at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and at The Aroostook Medical Center. Al will be fondly missed and remembered by all who knew him and shared his enthusiasm for life. He is survived by his eldest son, James “Jim” Bouchard and his wife, Connie, of Goffstown, N.H.; his daughter, Mary Cochran and her husband, Steve, of Lebanon, Ohio; his son Paul’s family, Heidi and Brian Corliss of Winterport; seven grandchildren, his brother, Adrian and family of Presque Isle; his sister, Elizabeth Fritz and family of Grand Forks, N.D.; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and many many friends. He was predeceased by his wife, S. Arline “Lee” Bouchard, in 2000; his youngest son, Paul, in 1992; and his brothers, Louis and George. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. Monday, April 9, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Presque Isle, with the Very Rev. Jean LaBrie, celebrant. Friends may call 7-9 p.m. Sunday at Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, 30 Church St., Presque Isle. Interment will be later this spring at North Main Street Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be forwarded in his remembrance to Presque Isle Rehabilitation and Nursing Home Activities Fund, 162 Academy St., Presque Isle, ME 04769. Condolences may be expressed at www.duncan-graves.com
J. ALFRED ‘AL BOUCHARD
