Gerard Breault - “Peps”
April 21st 1920 – January
17th 2018
On Thursday morning, as we were preparing to head back to
the USA, we heard that Gloria’s dad passed away the previous evening. It seems
incredible that having been married for 71 years that “Mems” and “Peps” would
die within two days of each other. They were so close it’s not hard to imagine
that this is what they would have wanted. “Peps” was 97 years old and had been
a force into his 90’s, undertaking projects that much younger men would not
have considered. It was only in the last few years that he declined and he was
fortunate to live the vast majority of his life in great health. His career in
the US Army, where he rose to first sergeant, took him and his family all over
the world. During WWII he was stationed in Rhode Island as part of coastal
defense and after the war spent periods of time in Maine, upstate New York and
Texas. He also served abroad in Okinawa, (where Liz was born), Korea (without
his family) and Germany. Gloria was aged 8-10 years old whilst the family was
in Germany and these were some of the most memorable years of her childhood.
“Peps” left the army in 1967 and the family settled in Rhode Island, but it was in 1977 that “Peps” finally got to live his dream, when he and “Mems” bought a piece
of land and moved up to central Maine. With the help of Rod and Paul in particular, he
built their house. I believe the following three decades were the happiest of
his life, living on his own land, cultivating an impressive garden, master of
his own domain. When Gloria and I first met, her parents had already been living in Maine
for several years. I will never forget how they welcomed me to their home and
their family, and I have wonderful memories of visits to Maine over almost
thirty years. The world will seem like an emptier place without "Mems and Peps" around.
Gloria and I are currently back in Massachusetts / Rhode Island
where it has been wonderful to see the family. The funeral for both of her
parents will be on Monday 22nd January and we will head back to St
Lucia the following day.
"Peps" was never happier than when he was working in his garden. This shot taken in the late summer of 1992 when we visited with 8 week old baby Natasha
"Peps" at a family gathering at our house around the time of his 90th birthday
Well written, Mike - love to Gloria and Tash and best wishes to the family
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