Robert Earl Bordeaux Sr., 80, a longtime resident of Waterbury Center, passed away in the comfort of his home in San Antonio, TX, on Sunday, March 4, 2012. Born in Waterbury on March 12, 1931, he was the son of the late Emile P. and Ethel (Sweeney) Bordeaux. On January 10, 1953, he married the former Elizabeth “Betty” Harrington in Waterbury.
Bob was a 1949 graduate of Waterbury High School, where, as a junior, he joined the Army National Guard. Bob was activated in 1950 during the Korean War and was stationed in Germany. He retired from the National Guard in 1991 as staff sergeant. Bob also had a long career with AT&T where he worked as a PBX phone system installer, retiring in 1985. He later worked as a bus driver for Harwood Union High School in Duxbury for six years.
Bob’s memberships included the Wesley United Methodist Church in Waterbury, Winooski Lodge #49, F&AM where he was a 50-year member and past master, a past high priest of the Royal Arch, Waterbury Chapter #24 and was a 50-year member and past patron of Queen Esther Chapter #7 OES. Other memberships included the Barre Council #22 R&SM, Mt. Zion Commandery #9 and Mt Sinai Shrine #3, and he was a member and past post commander of American Legion Post #59 of Waterbury.
A resident of San Antonio, TX, for the past 14 years, Bob held an associate membership at the Chapel Hill United Methodist Church where he was an active participant in adult Sunday school class, weekly Bible study and the United Methodist Men, and he was a member of the Valley-Hi Lodge #1407 F&AM and Adah Chapter #49 OES. In his leisure time Bob was an avid golfer and enjoyed woodworking.
His family will fondly remember him for the love he had for Betty, his children and how much his grandchildren and great-grandchildren meant to him.
Bob is survived by his wife of 59 years, Betty Bordeaux of San Antonio, TX; their children, Debra Bordeaux of Plattsburgh, NY, Diana Moquin and her husband Davis of Peru, NY, Annette Litchfield of Waterbury Center, Douglas Bordeaux and his wife Regina of Duxbury, and Robert E. Bordeaux Jr. of Waterbury Center; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; three sisters, Lillian Tibbitts of Greensboro, Lucille Lafreniere and her husband Thomas of Orange, CT, and Carol Heil and her husband Walter of White River Jct.; as well as nieces, nephews and extended family. Bob was predeceased by a grandson, Jed Provencher; a sister, Shirley Metayer; and three brothers, Melvin, Arnold and Bernard Bordeaux.
Memorial services will be held from the Wesley United Methodist Church in Waterbury on March 24, 2012, at 2 p.m. with a reception to follow at the Waterbury Senior Center. Interment will take place with military honors in the Vermont Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Randolph. For those who wish, memorial gifts in lieu of flowers would be appreciated to the Wesley United Methodist Church Flood Restoration Project, P. O. Box 214, Waterbury, VT 05676. Send online condolences to www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury.
