Roland A. Dupuis, 85
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Roland Arthur Dupuis, 85, of 21 Johnson Lane, West Yarmouth, formerly of North Adams, died Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, at the Readsboro, Vt., home of his caregivers Mary and Margaret Havreluk.
Born in North Adams on Aug. 13, 1924, a son of Raoul and Cora Lussier Dupuis, he attended local schools and also graduated from a security systems school in Long Island, N.Y., and from a stereo system and installing school in Albany, N.Y. Later in life, he attended Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and also obtained his real-estate agent license.
A highly decorated Navy veteran of World War II, he served as a seaman and received a Purple Heart after being wounded at Okinawa and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving the lives of two fellow sailors. He also was involved with Invasion of Normandy and the landings on Omaha Beach aboard the destroyer USS Forrest.
Mr. Dupuis was a successful contractor and businessman. He established the former Berkshire Audio Stereo and Security Store on Union Street and his construction company served many businesses and residents in several states, including completing the finishing work at the former Sheraton Hotel, now the Holiday Inn. He continued his construction business after moving to Cape Cod in 1978, working for Old Colony Bank, and sold real estate there. He had first worked for 19 years as a pastry baker at the former Molly's Bakery, a time interrupted by his military service.
He was a communicant of the former St. Francis of Assisi Church and attended Mass at St. Joachim's Church in Readsboro and at Catholic churches on the Cape. He was a member and past president of the North Adams Lions Club and of the Greylock Sportsmen's Club and a member of the Building Trade Association.
His former wife, Helen Attalla Dupuis, whom he married Aug. 11, 1945, in St. Francis' Church, died Dec. 13, 1996.
Besides his caregivers, he leaves two sisters, Murielle Ouellette and her husband, Homer, of Pittsfield and Claire Burbank and her husband, Alfred, of Pittsfield; a brother, Norman Dupuis and his companion, Jane Kronzer, of Poway, Calif.; a granddaughter, Brittany Sherwood and her husband, Jeffrey, of Yorktown, Va.; two great-grandchildren, Connor and Peyton Reed of Yorktown; two sisters-in-law, Judy and Jeannette Dupuis of Pittsfield; several nieces and nephews, and his "adopted family," Carrol and Reita Havreluk of Jacksonville, Vt., Gabrielle Havreluk of St. Albans, Vt., and William and Jeanne Havreluk Bourdon of Lee.
He was predeceased by his daughter, Rosemarie Wool Goodrich, on Aug. 9, 1988, his great-granddaughter Rose Reed and his brothers Raoul, Wilfred and Charles Dupuis.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Funeral services Mr. Dupuis will take place Monday, Aug. 9, at 10:15 a.m. at Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St. North Adams, Mass., followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11 at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in North Adams. Burial with full military honors will follow in Southview Cemetery.
Calling hours are Sunday, Aug. 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers memorial donations are suggested for the charity of the donor's choice through the funeral home.