JEAN ROLAND LAROUCHE

ALTON – Jean Roland Larouche, 97, of Hirundo Wildlife Refuge in Alton, passed away peacefully Saturday, Dec. 17, 2004, at the Mayo Memorial Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. He had been a recent patient at nearby Hibbard Nursing Home. “Roland” was born April 23, 1907, in Old Town. He was the eldest child of Jean Charles and Leontine (St. Pierre) Larouche. He is survived by two brothers, Maurice Edward and wife, Shirley, of East Hampton, Mass. and Charles Renaldo and wife, Marjorie, of Italy Cross, Nova Scotia; sisters-in-law, Doris Larouche of Hibbard Nursing Home and June Larouche of Hirundo Wildlife Refuge. Dennis Atkinson, caretaker of Hirundo Wildlife Refuge was a tremendous help to Roland in his later years and is as bereaved as a son would be. An extended family of nieces, nephews, distant relatives and countless others who were touched by this remarkable and kind man, likewise feel a profound loss. Roland was predeceased in 1958 by his wife, Doris (Thorsen), of Pittsburgh, Pa.; his parents, and brother, Virgil in 2002 and Oliver in 1996. His sister, Olive, died at age 11 in the 1920 influenza epidemic. His family moved shortly thereafter to Derby (part of Milo), where his father began working at the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Car Shops. Roland began working there himself at the age of 16. At the age of 21, Roland decided to move to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he began working at Western Pennsylvania Power Company (later to be named Allegheny Energy). Except for an enlistment in the U.S. Navy, during World War II, he spent 43 years with Allegheny Energy, mostly in their Power Grid Planning Department, specializing in transformers and power relay stations. There he met a very attractive secretary, Doris Thorsen, who was his supervisor’s administrative assistant. From their marriage in 1936 until Doris’ untimely death of brain cancer in 1958, Roland was devoted to his wife Doris, the love of his life. After his wife’s death, Roland never remarried. During evenings in the 1930’s and 1940’s, Roland also pursued his love of music as a trombonist for a well-known Pittsburgh radio studio orchestra. In those days radio melodramas and variety shows were usually accompanied by an orchestra for sign ons and sign offs, sound effects and any other creative application that program directors would dream up. We are told that Roland’s slide trombone was used to great effect in comedy routines. Also, one of his solos in a serious orchestral piece was once listened to on the radio by members of Roland’s extended family in northern Quebec Province, Canada. During his tour of duty on the battleship USS Washington in World War II, Roland was, among his other responsibilities, a member of and arranger for the ship and fleet band. Roland’s music certainly got around, but he often said that his most enjoyable times were when his family would get together for musical evenings. Leontine, his mother, would play the violin, Eddie would play the piano, Charlie, his dad, would play the spoons, other brothers and relatives would join in with various instruments and vocal contributions. These evenings were always memorable and raucous, he said. When he lived in Pittsburgh, Roland and his wife always had season tickets to the Pittsburgh Symphony. Music was a big part of his life. During World War II, Roland served in the U.S. Navy on the Battleship U.S.S. Washington. He never told any “war stories,” but records show that he was awarded the Bronze Star and several campaign ribbons. The U.S.S. Washington was the flagship for Admiral Halsey. One of Roland’s most poignant recollections was that the bombardment laid down by the USS Washington, and other ships, in preparation for the U.S. Marine invasion of Saipan and Tinian was flying over the head of his younger brother, Charles Renaldo (“Ditto”), who participated in those combat landings and in several other South Pacific landings including Guadalcanal and Tarawa, and years later retired as a full Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. Roland was glad that he didn’t know what was really happening to his younger brother at the time. Roland was an expert fly fisherman, and had a jacket that was covered like a patchwork quilt with awards that he won at competitions. Anyone who has seen him “toss a fly” knew that they were in the presence of a master. One of his nephews, who recalls being taught fly fishing at a young age by Roland, can still hear the cadence of a song composed by his uncle to ingrain the rhythm of a good cast. Roland enjoyed fishing the trout streams of Western Pennsylvania and the upper peninsula of Michigan, but he recalled most fondly the times he spent with his brothers as they fished for trout in the Gulf Hagas Gorge area of Maine. His regular taunt would be: “Do you guys want to toss a fly today or simply drown some worms?” He was a long-time member of Trout Unlimited. Catch and release was his ethic and the barbs of his fly hooks were always precisely filed off. He was also known to go out in a canoe routinely without fishing equipment to catch by hand specimens of the current hatch of insects so that he could match the hatch of the body of water he was about to fish. Roland was also a passionate photographer. He specialized in wildlife photography. In the latter part of his life, he focused on wildflowers, particularly those he encountered around the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge. He seemed to be most interested in placing his camera with macro lenses on specially designed platform mounts so he could shoot small wildflowers that he found on the forest floor: He would patiently wait for “just the right light.” His slide shows of wildflowers complete with musical accompaniment were well-known throughout the State. He so loved the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge that he has deeded his home on the Refuge to be used as the caretaker’s permanent dwelling managed by the Board of Trustees, of which he was a charter member. Roland Larouche will be remembered as a good, generous and gentle man. He led a remarkable life, full of interests and people who will never forget him. For many years, he had season tickets to all University of Maine Hockey games and cultural events. It is worthwhile to note that he had only an eighth grade education but, to everyone who knew him, he was a truly cultured man, and a true gentleman. A committal service with military honors for Roland Larouche will be conducted 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004, in the Chapel of the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, Mt. Vernon Road, Augusta. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be conducted during the upcoming summer in the Old Town/Orono area at a time to be announced later. A service of Brookings-Smith, Old Town Chapel.