Marcel G. Groleau

BARRE - Thursday, September 20, 2018, in the presence of his family, Marcel G. Groleau, 86, passed into eternal life at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, where he had been hospitalized by a brief illness since September 1.

Born at home in Williamstown, Vermont on April 5, 1932, to Willie and Flora (Lafontaine) Groleau, Marcel grew up on the family farm. He was the youngest son of 11 children. After completing the eighth grade, he worked on the farm before moving to Connecticut to live with his sister, Yvonne, and learn the carpenter trade. At age 21 he was inducted into the U.S. Army. He saw front-line combat as a U.S. Army infantry machine gunner during the final months of the Korean Conflict. He was released from active duty in October 1954 and discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve in at the end of 1960 with the rank of corporal. On September 29, 1956, he and Annette Cotnoir were united in marriage at St. Monica Catholic Church in Barre. After a Hampton Beach, N.H. honeymoon, the couple settled and raised a family in Barre.

He founded Groleau Construction in 1959. Due to his drive, intelligence, and hard work, he grew his general contracting business into a successful and thriving company that had a reputation for excellence. He was responsible for many residential, commercial and industrial construction projects and renovations throughout the Barre area and beyond. Among the projects he liked to remember were the Canadian Club rebuilding and the Elks Club remodeling, and many others. After more than 40 years of hard work and teaching the business to his son, Mark, Marcel retired in the late 1990’s. Mark successfully operated Groleau Construction Inc. until his death in 2017.

Marcel was an active member of St. Monica Catholic Church, loving especially to sing in the choir. He was also a member of the Canadian Club, the Elks Lodge in Barre, and American Legion Post 10 in Barre where Marcel enjoyed Karaoke singing in his later years. Marcel loved hunting, which he enjoyed with his son and many friends at camps he co-owned, first in Orange and then on East Long Pond in Woodbury. He was an avid trap shooter, often taking the family to out-of-state competitions. He loved to play guitar and sing at family parties, and enjoyed playing cards, eating out, and talking with old friends that he always seemed to meet wherever he went.

He was predeceased by his wife, Annette, in 2015, their first-born child, Rose Marie, in 2007, and their son, Mark, in 2017. He is survived by daughter Colette and her husband, Guy Page, of Berlin; and daughter Lisa and her husband, Philip Robtoy, of Enosburg. Also surviving are son-in-law Richard Parauka, of New Haven, Connecticut; grandson Sean Parauka and his wife, Candice, of Milford, Connecticut; granddaughter Heather Parauka of Georgetown, Texas; grandson Lucien Robtoy of Enosburg; and granddaughter Bailey Groleau and daughter-in-law Christine Groleau of Orange. Marcel is also survived by sisters Rollande Blakeslee of Meriden, Connecticut; Alice Valley of Claremont, New Hampshire; and brother, Emil Groleau, of New Britain, Connecticut.

Marcel's life celebration and Mass of Christian burial will be held Monday, October 1, at 10 a.m. in St. Monica Catholic Church in Barre. Interment will follow in St. Sylvester Cemetery in Barre Town. Friends may call at the Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home, 7 Academy Street, Barre, from 4 to 6 pm Sunday, September 30.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, Inc., 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641. His loving PCAs, especially Darcy, made a world of difference in his life. The family extends their warmest gratitude to Julie Stark, his friend and caregiver extraordinaire who helped make his final years more enjoyable.