Gilbert V. Lavoie

BROCKTON -- Gilbert V. Lavoie, of Raynham, formerly of Ogunquit, Maine, and Thornwood, N.Y., passed away peacefully on Jan. 5, 2024, at Good Samaritan Medical Center after a short illness. He was 93. Gilbert was the devoted husband of Anna (Gillis) Lavoie, with whom he shared 47 years of marriage and raised seven children. Born in Cambridge, he was the son of Gerard and Imelda Lavoie. He grew up in Medford, along with two brothers and three sisters. He attended Medford public schools, and at age 17, enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington, and was honorably discharged in 1948. He briefly attended Tufts University and later held a variety of construction jobs before becoming a mechanical engineer. He started his own company, Taunton Engineering Co., in 1969. In the 1970s, he invented and patented an industrial bag opener and emptying machine that earned him accolades in the engineering industry. He was the president of Taunton Engineering for three decades until he retired to care fulltime for his beloved wife, Anna, when she became ill with Alzheimer's Disease, and remained by her side until she died in 2002. During retirement, he remained active, building a garage in his back yard and taking on many other construction projects until he was in his 80s. He was an avid reader, a fisherman and a world traveler. A gentleman in the truest sense of the word, he instilled strong values in his children, teaching them that they could achieve almost anything through hard work and perseverance. He is survived by his seven children: Michael Lavoie, of Hopkinton; Denise Lavoie, and Dr. Suzanne Lavoie, both of Glen Allen, Virginia; Steven Lavoie, of Raynham; Dr. Teresa Lavoie, of Edina, Minnesota; Jean (Lavoie) Donaghy, of Smithtown, New York; and Patrick Lavoie, of Easton. He is also survived by 23 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a third on the way, as well as three sisters, and more than 40 nieces and nephews. Family and friends are invited to attend his wake on Jan. 14, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the O'Keefe-Wade Funeral Home in Taunton, and his funeral Mass on Jan. 15, at 10 a.m. St. Ann Catholic Church in Raynham. Burial will be at Pleasant St. Cemetery in Raynham. In lieu of flowers, Gilbert asked that donations be made in the name of his wife, Anna Lavoie, to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association: https://www.alz.org/manh

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