J. Arthur Chiasson

ATHOL - J. Arthur Chiasson, of Athol, died on January 20, at the age of  89.  He was the beloved husband of M. Rita Duguay, whom he married on May 25, 1946, at Our Lady Immaculate Church, where he was still a communicant. Born in Athol on April 27, 1924, he was the loving son of the late Henry and Albina (Blanchard) Chiasson.  He was their number one repairman. Arthur was an ambitious person.  At the tender age of ten, he and his brothers worked at Jimmie’s Restaurant on Main Street.  At 13, he had a paper route for the Athol Daily News.  He also worked at Hamilton’s Shoe Store during high school. Arthur attended Athol Public Schools, graduating in 1944.  He was the Vice-President of his class and enjoyed organizing and emceeing the class reunions with his classmate Edward Cetto. Unable to answer the call for volunteers for World War II, due to a congenital health issue, he proudly joined the Massachusetts State Guards at the age of 17.  He was a sergeant when discharged in1946.  He has always supported the area veterans.  Arthur and his wife proudly danced and sang in the two musical revues, which helped to raise funds for the Athol Veterans Park.  In 2011, he was honored to be chosen as Assistant Grand Marshal at the Memorial Day events. Arthur and Rita’s wedding day was shared with his brother Edmund and his wife Florence in a beautiful double ring ceremony. The foursome went to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.  The brothers lived on the same street for most of their lives. As an adult his first job was at Cass’s Toy Company where he worked in the designing room.   He spent many years on the road as a Cushman Bakery deliveryman in the Greenfield-Turners Falls area.  Through the years occasionally he would arrive home late, because he was helping a customer shovel a snowy driveway or staying late to play cards with an elderly customer. When Cushman’s went out of business, he joined the staff at W.T. Grants Store on Main Street as its Assistant Manager. His last job was with L.S. Starrett Company, where he worked in the Centerless Grinding room. He retired in 1984. Arthur has been a member of the Knights of Columbus since 1954.  During that period he rose to the level of Grand Knight, 4th degree.  At one time he was a councilor to the Columbian Squires.  He also volunteered many hours of labor rehabbing and maintaining  the former K of C Hall on Route 32. Arthur was proud of his involvement as Cubmaster for Pack 18 for many years.   At that time, he had the largest pack in Central Massachusetts.  His troop would practice marching in spring to be ready for the Memorial Day Parade.  He also served the Town of Athol on its Welfare Board. Some of his hobbies included hunting, working in his yard, traveling, and dancing. He once made the front page of the news with a hunting mistake.  With a deer in his sights, he loaded his shotgun.  But instead of a shell, he put in a pack of Life Savers by accident.  That company sent Arthur a giant-sized pack as a joke. He was a jack of all trades.  In fact Arthur, with help from his father-in-law Arthur Robichaud, built his house.   He also constructed the stone walls on his property and the property of his brother and other neighbors.  He not only maintained his yard’s garden of vegetables and flowers, but he also watered the flowers at graves of his deceased friends at the Silver Lake Cemetery. In his younger years, Arthur and wife would travel to Boston to have an opportunity to dance to the sounds of the Big Bands of the 40’s, such as Harry James, Glenn Miller, and Gene Kruper.  Up until his passing, Art and Rita could “still cut a rug.”  They enjoyed dancing to the sounds of Marty Picard’s band and attending the annual YMCA dance and the COA’s Senior Prom. They traveled to Canada frequently, often bringing his mother-in-law to visit relatives.   They vacationed on the islands of Bermuda, Aruba, Hawaii, and the Bahamas.  But after he retired and for 18 years, they enjoyed spending their winters in Winter Haven and Lake Placid, Florida.  Art enjoyed fishing from the dock and feeding the fish to the waiting herons.  In recent years “Puppa and Memee” vacationed with his daughter and her family on 4-generation trips to Cape Cod and Waterville Valley, N.H. In the late 1990’s, Art began sharing his knowledge with the youngsters of Athol.  He visited Silver Lake and Sander Street Schools to discuss Florida’s orange industry. Loving the history of Athol, he also shared the story and pictures of the Flood of 1938 with the children.  He donated a street car bell and an antique typewriter to the Athol Historical Society for future generations to enjoy.  He also liked submitting old photos to the Athol Daily News. Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Karen and her husband James Miller of Billerica, and two sons, Kevin of Greenfield and Kary of Athol.  Arthur has seven grandchildren: Dustienne Miller, Nicholas Chiasson, Kristalyn Keenan and her husband Kyle of Maine, Kerry-Ann Prentice and her husband Evan , Michael Chiasson and his wife Rebecca, Tyler Chiasson, and Corey and his wife Megan Chiasson of Florida.  He also has seven great-grandchildren: Mikayla and Aiden Nichols, Calia, Camdyn and Cooper Keenan, Alaina and Ava Chiasson.  He is also survived by his brother Raymond and his wife Irene, of Jamaica Plain, and his sister-in-law Nancy Chiasson.  Uncle Arthur also leaves many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brothers Willard (Guggy) and Edmund and his wife Florence, his brother-in-law Leo Duguay and his wife Dorothy, his brother-in-law Edmund Duguay and his wife Bertha, and his loving mother-in-law Azilda Duguay Robichaud, and her husband Arthur. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, January 27, 2014 at 10 a.m. in Our Lady Immaculate Church 192 School St., Athol.  Burial will follow in Silver Lake Cemetery. Calling hours will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2014 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Fiske-Murphy & Mack Funeral Home 110 New Athol Road, Orange. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent in his memory to the Father Marcotte Scholarship Fund at Our Lady Immaculate Church, 192 School St. Athol, MA 01331.                 $(document).ready(function(){ });