Onesime Wilfred (Bill) Gagnon
| Onesime Wilfred (Bill) Gagnon | |
| Nationality: |  American
|
| Born: | April 8, 1917 Jay, Maine |
| Died: | April 18, 1995 Long Beach, California |
| Father: | Onesime Gagnon |
| Mother: | Rosa Yvonne Michaud |
| Spouse: | Orena Adrianne Potvin Grace E Langford Connie P Lebel |
| Married: | September 28, 1946 (Rena) Rochester, NH December 14, 1980 (Grace) Reno, NV October 1, 1994 (Connie) Presque Isle, ME |
| Children: | Jeanne Gagnon Lorraine T Gagnon Richard Gagnon |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Residence: | Chisholm, Maine Keegan, Maine Chisholm, Maine Biddeford, Maine East Hartford, CT Newington, CT '48 Simi Valley, CA Livermore Falls, ME '79 Bradenton, FL Long Beach, CA |
| Profession: | Machinist Owner, ARCO Station Tool & Die Maker (Teledyne) Woodworker, Hobbyist |
Contents
- 1 Bill's Childhood
- 2 Bill's First Car
- 3 High School Graduation & Immediately After
- 4 1943 and During World War II
- 5 War is Over
- 6 Bill and Rena
- 7 A New Baby
- 8 In Business with his Brother Albert
- 9 Family is Now Complete
- 10 Move to California
- 11 An Ideal Location for Family Vacations
- 12 Pilgrimages to Maine
- 13 Sometimes the Easterners Would Visit
- 14 Marital Separation
- 15 Bill - Wonderful Grandfather
- 16 Bill and Grace
- 17 Move Back Home to Maine
- 18 Move to Florida, Grace's Passing
- 19 Bill Mends an Old Broken Heart
- 20 An Untimely Passing
- 21 Bill's Legacy
Bill's Childhood
Not surprisingly, as the oldest of Rosa and Onesime's children, Bill grew up with a lot of responsibility expected of him. He was expected to help with the chores, and with such a large family, there were plenty of them. He also experienced some traumatic events at a young age. His baby sister Jeannette died when he was only 4. His grandfather, Jimmy, died when he was only 10, the same year that his younger brother Albert got run over by a truck and was in a coma for several days.
It's well known in the family that Rosa was a critical mother, but fortunately, Bill's personality was suited to the task, as he was serious and had high standards for himself. He was a very good student, and applied himself.
Rosa and Onesime's children attended two elementary schools, depending on where the family was living. When they lived on Moose Hill, the children attended Shuy School, just down the hill, and when they lived in town, they attended St Rose of Lima Catholic elementary school. (Ironically, many years later his daughter Lorraine would teach at a Catholic school of the same name in Simi Valley, California.)
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Bill in back row, at age 10.
Bill in center (circled) at age 12.
Bill then went on to Livermore Falls High School, where he was an excellent student and played on the football team.
Bill's First Car
(NOTE: this anecdote is paraphrased from a story Bill told to his son, Rick). Around 1933, when Bill was about 16, he bought his first car. A neighboring farmer had a 1925 Ford Model T just sitting in his barn, because it had been badly damaged in an accident. Along with the typically expected accident damage, this car had also been rolled a few times, so it was pretty flat. The farmer told Bill if he bought it, he could work on it in the barn. Bill thought it was a steal for $25.00, so he used all of his savings to buy it.
Using a ball peen hammer, it took him over 2 months to beat the car roof back up to where it belonged. It wasn't perfect but at his age it was perfect enough for him. The car ran well for about a year, and then the crank bearings froze up. He and his 12-yr old brother Al took leather straps that had been soaking in oil and put them, along with cut up tin can strips, in place of the bearings. They would get another 200 to 300 miles before needing to do another one of those change-outs. It appears that Bill and Al thought alike and maybe that is why they decided to go into business together with a gas station, after the war.
High School Graduation & Immediately After
Times were hard in 1935 when Bill was graduating from high school. For his graduation picture, he and a friend thumbed a ride 60 miles north “up country” where they got jobs working in a lumber camp. They worked for two weeks to earn enough money to pay for their graduation pictures. Then, they hitchhiked back home. This was during their 2 week spring vacation. He presented his graduation picture to his parents. (Later, in 1991, after both parents had been gone for some time, he re-presented the picture to his oldest daughter, Jeanne).
He graduated with honors in 1935, one of only seventeen students graduating that year.
After graduation, there were very few jobs to be had, because it was during the depression and work was scarce. That summer he worked for Mr. Winfield on his farm. His mother, Rosa, gave birth to what would be her last child, Robert. Now there were 7 children, and Wilfred decided to join the CCC’s in order to earn money to send home each month. As such, he was in New Hampshire for sometime.
In March of 1936, there was a big flood because the dam broke, so Bill got an opportunity to work with the team of men who were rebuilding the dam. That summer, Bill got a job in the mill.
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Bill graduated with honors in 1935.
Bill at the CCC's in the winter of 1935.
The registration slip from Bill's '32 Chevy Coach.
Bill on the NYA baseball team (bottom row, far right).
Always a good saver, in 1937, at the age of 19, Bill purchased his next car: a 1932 Chevrolet Coach. The actual State of Maine registration that was issued to Bill on March 14, 1937 is shown in the above photo.
Bill also played baseball for a short time in the late 1930’s for a team in the National Youth Administration, which was a youth agency under the New Deal Program, specifically part of the Works Progress Administration. (See photo above)
In 1939, Bill was one of many laid off from the mill. This time, he went to Dexter, Maine to learn to be a machinist, and then later, to learn to be a tool and die maker. Although he returned to the J.P. mill, he was soon laid off again. Clearly, the news in the world was not good either. Europe was now embroiled in a war with Germany. Bill went to Connecticut to find work, and the family did not know if he would ever return to Maine (in fact, Bill did not return to Maine to live until his retirement many years later).
1943 and During World War II
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Bill's enlistment record.
Rosa and Onesime with Bill just before he left for the war.
Bill during WWII.
Bill and a friend in 1943.
Albert enlisted and left for the war in 1942, shortly after being in Blanche's wedding party. According to the records, Bill enlisted and left in the Spring of 1943. By this time, Cecile had been married a while and been having children - her first, Ronald, was born in 1935 just before Bobby was born. Rosa's house emptied out of older children almost all at once. Communication with her older sons was difficult because mail delivery was very delayed. In addition to logistics of collecting outgoing mail from soldiers on the front line, it was also audited by the War Department. It was especially important that no soldier should send home information that could be stolen by the enemy to pinpoint troop locations or deployment plans. Any information like this was redacted from the letter – that is, it was actually cut out of the paper. After being redacted, the letters were photostated. It was called V-mail – “V” for Victory.
During the war, Bill served in the European theater. Although we know that Bud served in Italy and Northern Africa, we don't know where Bill fought while he was away, or how his skills were utilized.
War is Over
On May 10, 1945, the war in Europe ended. Wilfred, who had not yet married, was the first one to come back home after the war. When he arrived, Norman and Robert were very ill with scarlet fever and the house was quarantined. So, until the quarantine was lifted, Wilfred had to go live with a cousin, Flossie Beaulieu.
When he was in the army, Wilfred had been engaged to a nice girl named Connie Lebel, who lived in Brunswick. Connie and Bill's sister Blanche were very good friends, and he and Connie had been in Blanche's wedding party before the war. He had expected that he and Connie would marry soon after his return, but it was not to be. When he came back from the war, she broke the engagement. Brokenhearted, he moved back to his job in Connecticut.
Bill and Rena
Bill met a nice French girl, Orena (Rena) Potvin, originally from New Hampshire who was also working in Connecticut. They met through mutual friends. Bill asked Rena out to help him shop for a Christening gift for a friend of his and that was their first date. They were married a short time later in Rochester, N.H. on Sept 28, 1946, and settled in Connecticut.
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Bill and Rena on their wedding day in September, 1946.
Bill and Rena just after the ceremony.
Onesime and Rosa with Blanche at Bill's wedding.
Bill, Rena on their wedding day with Rena's mother.
Back from left: Jack Lee, Cecile, Rita, Rosa, Onesime, Blanche. Front from left: Bobby, Albert, Norman, Bill.
A New Baby
Sometime in 1947, Bill and Rena were blessed with with a beautiful baby girl, Jeanne. Consequently, Bill started looking for alternative ways to make a living to better support his growing family. When Rena was pregnant with their first child in 1947, Bill had a job working for Helms Bakery, delivering baked goods. One of the benefits of his job was that he could bring day-old baked goods home to his wife; something she looked forward to at the end of the day. Their first child, Jeanne Paulette Gagnon, was born in the Fall of 1947 in East Hartford, CT. Bill's brother Albert served as godfather.
In Business with his Brother Albert
In 1948, Bill found a gas station for sale in an excellent area on the Hartford / West Hartford town line that he wanted to purchase. In order to be successful, he would need a partner with mechanical skills. He decided to ask his brother Albert. Never fond of working in the mill anyway, Albert was an adventurer at heart and jumped at the chance.
Together, they purchased what was at the time an Atlantic-Richfield station, on the corner of Prospect Ave. and Farmington Ave. At first, Bill and Rena offered Al a room in their home, in their unfinished, unheated attic. Jeannie, who was Albert’s godchild, was a baby. At the time, Albert did not own a car, and because he and Wilfred worked different shifts, Albert took a bus to and from work.
The brothers had complementary skills - Bill ran the books, and did the ordering of supplies and equipment. Bill was quiet and serious, but Albert was friendly and gregarious, and attracted many new customers. He was the salesman and mechanic, and he enjoyed working at the station.
After a while, Albert began to have problems living at Wilfred’s. Over several months, it became apparent that there were growing tensions at Bill and Rena’s. For one thing, Rena did not like the business – she thought it was dirty and smelly. After a while, Albert decided to move out of Bill’s, and find his own accommodations. Albert moved into a rooming house on Prospect Ave. His friends Charlie and Jesse lived there, too, and they all had adjoining rooms. This worked out great, because he also could now walk to work, instead of being stuck on the bus.
The gas station was a well-run and lucrative business - however, two events occurred that spelled the end of the business in 1949. In the fall of 1949, Albert met Irene and began seriously dating her, and Rena had reached the end of her tolerance for the dirty, smelly laundry impact. They sold the business at a profit, and parted amicably from being in business together.
Family is Now Complete
It was around this time that Bill and Rena's second child was born, a daughter, Lorraine Theresa. After the sale of the station, Bill entered the job market with his tool and die maker skills that he'd acquired years before in Maine. It was this education he used as a foundation upon which he would now build a successful career. He quickly found a job in his field. In 1951, Richard Andre, their son and final child was born.
In 1954, Bill and Rena bought a home, which was part of a new housing development in East Hartford, CT. They lived there for about 2 years. Jobs in the area weren’t paying very well and with three children, Bill was looking for advancement. Rena’s brother, Oliver (aka Pete) Potvin, who had moved from New Hampshire to Southern California a few years earlier, convinced Bill he could land a great job in California. As this was a major move, Bill and Rena considered the options, and weighed the risks carefully.
Move to California
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Jeanne in her best Shirley Temple pose.
Rena with Jeanne, Lorraine and Rick in 1953.
Jeanne, Lorraine and Rick around 1954.
Jeanne, Lorraine and Rick in 1955.
Rick, Jeanne and Lorraine, Easter 1955.
In 1956, the house was put on the market and it sold quickly. Bill and Rena packed up their home, put a rental trailer on the back of their car and drove to California with their 3 children. For the first couple of weeks, they stayed with Pete and his family. They found a home in Garden Grove and Bill began working. While he was in California he worked for companies such as Amelco, Autonetics and, eventually, Teledyne Systems. Bill was always a good provider for his family.
An Ideal Location for Family Vacations
Bill was a kind and gentle father with a big heart, a happy disposition and a good sense of humor. The children enjoyed vacations at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and other California attractions. The family often went camping when the children were young. They camped in a tent and visited such places as Sequoia National Park and many local camping spots. The children would hike, climb rocks, and swim while their parents spent hours playing Scrabble at the campsite’s picnic table. On one such camping trip, they carelessly left their cooler sitting out at night. A bear visited their campsite, tore open the cooler, and ate all its contents. The family always laughed about it later, remembering how Bill, who had gone out to see what was going on, suddenly tore back into the tent, pushing aside anyone who got in his way.
Pilgrimages to Maine
In 1957 and then again in 1964, the family drove all the way across country from California to Maine for a vacation, a distance of over 3,000 miles. Each time they completed the entire vacation in three weeks. They often drove through the night with Bill and Rena taking turns driving. The three children rotated positions in the back seat for sleeping. Two would sleep on the seat itself, and one child would be relegated to the floor. Occasionally they would stop for the night in a motel, but they did not have the time nor the money to do so very often. It was a very long and uncomfortable drive during those hot weeks of the summer. The car had no air conditioning, and particularly hot was the stretch through Death Valley. They ended up going to an air-conditioned movie and then driving at night. They had many stops to see friends and family in such places as Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, and Maine. On one of the trips they arrived home, exhausted and homesick, only to find that one of the children had left a candy bar under the bed, and the entire house was crawling with ants!
Sometimes the Easterners Would Visit
While living in California, Rosa and Onesime made a few trips to visit, and after Onesime died in 1968, Rosa came alone. Other family members came as well: Blanche, Bud and Judy; Rena’s brother Jerry, his wife Theresa and their 3 children. Albert, Irene and Louise, Mike, Tim and Jamie came in 1968. Robert, Bill's youngest brother and his wife Annette, moved to California in 1958. Bill was thrilled to have his baby brother living nearby and the two families visited each other often.
Marital Separation
The family moved often in California, usually due to Bill’s employment. As it so often happens, the marriage suffered problems and in 1972, after 26 years of marriage, Bill and Rena were legally separated. In 1980, they finally divorced.
Bill - Wonderful Grandfather
In the fall of 1976, Bill, who was single at the time, took his daughter Lorraine and granddaughters Jennifer and Audrey to visit relatives in Maine. Jennifer was three and a half years old; Audrey was almost one. First they made a stopover in Chicago, so that the girls could see relatives on their father’s side. Then on to beautiful Maine in all its glorious fall colors. This memorable vacation was a wonderful present he gave to his daughter and granddaughters, and he loved showing off his growing family to those relatives in Maine.
In June of 1977, Bill once again shared his love of Maine and family by taking his daughter, Jeanne and her son, Shawn, to Maine to visit relatives. While there, Bill also took Jeanne, Shawn and his mother Rosa to visit Albert and his family in Connecticut. Once again, Bill provided a wonderful vacation for his oldest daughter and her son, who was 7 at the time.
Bill and Grace
While Bill was working at Teledyne Systems in the Spring of 1979, he met Grace Matalone. In 1979, he and Grace took his 5-year-old granddaughter Jennifer in a motor home for a week of camping in Southern California. Jennifer loved her grandfather as well as the trip, and she came home from the journey just beaming.
On December 14, 1980, Bill and Grace were married in Reno, NV.
Move Back Home to Maine
In 1981, after Bill retired from Teledyne, they moved to Livermore Falls, ME, living next door to Bill’s brother Albert. Bill loved living in Livermore Falls again and was able to spend time with his mother before she passed away in 1985. He set up his basement as a workshop where he enjoyed working with wood, creating useful gifts for everyone. Bill’s grandson, Shawn, was able to spend a few weeks in Maine during the summer with him in 1981 and again in 1982; something they both thoroughly enjoyed.
In 1984, Bill’s first wife, Rena, passed away on Christmas Eve from internal bleeding.
Move to Florida, Grace's Passing
In 1990, Bill and Grace moved to Bradenton, FL for Grace’s health. They lived close to Rita and Maurice’s winter home. In 1992, Albert and Irene bought a place in the same complex, and the three siblings enjoyed getting together often. Sadly, this did not last long. On September 2, 1993, Grace passed away, and Bill was alone once again.
Bill Mends an Old Broken Heart
A few months after Grace's death, he was contacted by his old sweetheart, Connie Lebel. (She was still in touch with his sister, Blanche, and knew of his recent loss.) You may remember that they had been engaged 50 years earlier. They arranged to meet, and immediately fell in love once again. Not wanting to lose any more time, they were married on October 1, 1994, in Presque Isle, ME and made a home for themselves in Long Beach, CA. They were very happy together.
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Bud and Blanche's wedding in 1942, Connie (top left) and Bill in back row.
Bill and Connie on their wedding day in Presque Isle, Maine, October, 1994.
Bud, Connie and Bill at an unknown dinner, in late 1994, before moving back to California.
An Untimely Passing
After only 6 months of marriage, Bill had a shunt placed in his head to help alleviate a balance problem he was experiencing. Bill passed away on April 18, 1995 (10 days after his 78th birthday) from complications following that surgery. His remains were buried in the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, ME. He was survived by his wife, Connie, three children and five grandchildren.
Bill's Legacy
Bill was a quiet, thoughtful and serious man of integrity. He was loved and looked up to by his brothers and sisters. He was a wonderful father and grandfather. When his first grandchild was born, he would use his lunch hour at work almost every day during the first year to visit his daughter Jeanne, and spend extra time with his new grandchild. All five of his grandchildren were important to him and he never failed to show his love and attention.
