Paul V. Choquette, 71
Paul V. Choquette, age 71, of Pittsfield, MA, died Wednesday, July 26 surrounded by his family after many years of health challenges.
Paul was born in North Adams, MA on June 4, 1952. He was the third born son of the late Gerard (Joe) and Inga (Nielsen) Choquette. Being born third of ten children, Paul enjoyed a childhood filled with constant energy, shenanigans, and so much love. He attended St. Joseph's School in North Adams, MA where he would eventually meet the love of his life, Donna Aubin (Choquette), at the age of 16. Paul graduated from McCann Vocational Technical High School in 1970. Paul and Donna were married on June 23, 1972 and just recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary.
Paul was a skilled carpenter, and an all around handyman. Among various other jobs that Paul held, the most noteworthy was Paul being the Director of Facilities at Summer Camps for children for 35 years. Paul and Donna moved to Pittsfield in 1983 where Paul would become the Maintenance Director of Camp Winadu. Later on he would move on to Camp Pontiac, where he worked as Director of Facilities until his passing. Paul took so much pride in his work and made the camps he cared for beautiful places for all to enjoy. He especially loved to take people who visited him on tours in his golf cart and show off all of the projects he had overseen and completed. Making campers and families feel comfortable and proud at their home away from home, at the most beautiful camps, is the legacy that Paul left for all to enjoy for many years to come. In his downtime, Paul loved golf, playing cards, watching sports on TV, and spending time with his buddies at local taverns.
Paul worked hard his entire life and took a great deal of pride in his work, but nothing compared to the love he had for his family and the pride he had for his children, and most especially, his grandchildren. He enjoyed nothing more than celebrating their achievements on the ball fields, in the classroom, and anything else they engaged in. His son, Christopher, his daughter, Lynn Taylor, and his six grandchildren were the loves of his life. Grandpa Paul, as many lovingly refer to him as, was the kids' best and favorite babysitter by far, and he would do absolutely anything for his children and his six grandchildren. Grandpa Paul loved surprises and he especially took pleasure in surprising the grandkids on their birthdays and Christmas. He also loved nothing more than to have friends and family visit his camps, not just so they could experience the fun, but so he could show them off as he allowed them to take turns driving the golf cart around camp. He was always the “hero” when he would finish up a camp visit by unlocking the ice cream shop and the snack shack and letting all of the grandkids and their friends pick out whatever they wanted. These moments made Paul the happiest.
Paul was predeceased by his father, Gerard (Joe) Choquette, and his loving mother whom he missed dearly, Inga (Nielsen) Choquette. In addition to leaving behind his loving and devoted wife, Donna, his son Christopher Choquette and daughter, Lynn and husband Ian Taylor; he leaves behind his six grandchildren, Emily, Samuel and Abigail Taylor, and Alexis, Kaden, and Carly Choquette. He also leaves behind his six brothers Michael, David, Peter (Lorraine), Mark, Joel (Annie), and Daniel (Lucia), and his three sisters, Cathy Hines (Ken), Christine St. Pierre (Michael), and Colleen Choquette. Additionally, he leaves behind his sister and brother-in-law Raymond and Debra Wooley of Adams, MA. and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and longtime friends.
Paul's wishes were fulfilled when UMass Medical School accepted his anatomical gift upon his passing. Therefore, in place of funeral services, our family extends the invitation to celebrate Paul's life and legacy on Monday, August 7th, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at Proprietor's Lodge (22 Waubeek Drive), in Pittsfield, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Pop Cares, P.O. Box 482, Williamstown, MA 01267.