Joseph G. Dion

DION, Joseph G. "Gerry" One of six children of Joseph and Alberta Dion, was born May 21, 1921, in Lowell, Massachusetts. After graduating from Lowell High School in 1939, he served in World War II with the 10th Mountain Division and the Army Corps of Engineers. He married Alba Porter Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1946. They moved to Denver, Colorado where he graduated in 1951 from the University of Denver with a degree in architecture. He was responsible for designing a number of homes, including his own in Arapahoe Acres in Englewood, Colorado. It is the first post-World War II residential subdivision listed as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places. Constructed between 1949 and 1957, it is a community of 124 unique, modern homes. He practiced architecture at the firm of Morse, Dion, & Champion in Denver until 1969 when he, his wife and family moved to Lexington, Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, he worked with the firm of Pearly F. Gilbert and the Town of Andover, Massachusetts. He retired in 1986. Gerry and Alba Dion had four children, Devereaux Dion of Portland, Oregon, Peter Dion of Lexington, Massachusetts, Deirdre Dion-Alexander of Nashua, New Hampshire, and Julie Dion-Soberg of Acton, Massachusetts, and six grandchildren, Addie Dion, Peter Max Dion, Luke Dion, Connor Dion, Kelsey Soberg, and Taylor Soberg. His wife Alba predeceased him in 1982. Gerry married Sally Webster in 1984 and lived in the Andover-Newburyport area for the remainder of his life. Sally's five children, Lynn Trombly, Steve Webster, Judy Reilly, Jane Armstrong, and Anne DiFrancesco and their children became an important part of his extended family. Sally predeceased Gerry in April of 2008. Gerry enjoyed sailing, skiing, was an avid reader, and an accomplished doodler. His drafting table served him well in retirement as he continued his architectural career designing homes and other projects for family and friends. His four children, six grandchildren, sisters Lorraine Hurley, Estelle Dion, and brother, Roland Dion, survive Gerry. His sisters Aline Dion and Jeannette Dion Beland predeceased him. A celebration of life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the charity of the donor's choice. Douglass Funeral Home Lexington 781-862-1800 www.douglassfh.com