Rev. Donald F. Gauthier Jr.

1948 - 2019

SANBORNVILLE - On Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, the Reverend Donald F. Gauthier Jr., 71, was called to his rest and to the glory of the Resurrection promised by the Lord.

Born in Berlin on Sept. 12, 1948, he was the son of Donald and Katherine Gauthier Sr.

He attended St. Patrick Grammar School and Berlin High School. He graduated from St. Philip Neri College and completed ecclesiastical studies at Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and St. John's Seminary, Brighton, Mass.

Father Gauthier was ordained a priest on Sept. 27, 1975, by the Most Reverend Odore J. Gendron, DD, at St. John the Evangelist Church in Concord.

After Ordination, Father Gauthier served as associate pastor of the following parishes: Immaculate Conception Parish, Portsmouth; St. Anne Parish, Manchester; St. Joseph Parish, Nashua; and St. Catherine Parish, Manchester. Father Gauthier served as pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Belmont; St. Lawrence Parish, Goffstown; and Our Lady of the Mountains Parish, North Conway, before retiring in June 2016.

Father Gauthier also served as chaplain to the Algonquin District, Boy Scouts of America; Knights of Columbus, Portsmouth Council; Knights of Columbus, Nashua Council; Knights of Columbus, Manchester Marian Council; and the Goffstown Police Department. He was on the Council of Priests for the Laconia Deanery, served as an auditor for the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal and was on the Diocesan Building and Real Estate Board.

Born in September of 1948, Donald Francis Gauthier Jr. began life in an ordinary way. Given to his proud and war-weary parents, he was the first of five children. With his siblings, Dorman, Susan, Sandra, and the later Dan, Don was playfully mischievous and a leader in devising fun activities. He showed entrepreneurial skills when he began a business selling worms to fishermen. He enlisted his sisters to go on night crawling expeditions, dragging shovels and buckets behind them to hold the captured, slimy, muddy worms. Sue and Sammy would hand over their haul, he turned it into cash, then he would buy candy bars and ice cream for his family (and, I suspect, he was secretly stashing money away to buy a car). This first activity of turning collaborative industry into profit, purported skills he would implement in his future career. He would help his communities to raise money building a church, funds for a roof, installing budget crippling heating systems and repairs of the many congregations of churches.

Don was just 10 when he was called by God to His Divine Service. He was resolute in his path from boyhood to Seminary. After graduating from Berlin High School in 1966, he commenced ecclesiastical studies from 1966 to 1975. Don was fluent in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, and of course, English. After nine years of studies coupled with intrinsic skills to draw people to him, he began his journey into his life as a Disciple of God. Raised and grounded in nature, he loved to fish, hike, boat, camp, and hunt. He was a skilled and award-winning wildlife photographer. He had become an interesting man, he was a man of nature, a man of God and it was most natural that Don would meld his ministry with his hobbies and loves. He had become a man that his leaders respected and who the common man could follow. He shared his love of fishing in the Great Lakes and shared his secret fishing holes of the North Country such as N@#& Stream and M#@@$& Lake (One must not disclose these hot spots). With his newly-found comrades, they baited hooks and caught fish until the sun set. With his hilarious wit and social charisma he made wonderful lifetime memories as he hooked them into friendship and schooled them in the words of the Lord. His professed mantra of "Fishers of Men" became his iconic emblem. Don had become another Fisher of Men, the people of his life and communities.

Our brother Don was loved by many, yes, even thousands. We all thought we were lucky to have him in our lives; and, he continuously let us know he was lucky to have us in his. He nurtured lasting friendships that endured his entire adult lifetime. His loss to us is tragic, inconsolable, and makes us lonely. Only his persistent, unshakable, loving devotion to God and Jesus Christ makes us able to stand tall and carry on because he taught us to believe too. He was a skilled teacher and a sagacious counselor. We are thankful for knowing him. We are thankful to him for bringing us closer to God. Goodbye dearest brother, friend, and teacher. - S.A., D.G., S.G. & E.L.

Family members include his oldest sister, Sue Gauthier, and his baby sister, Sammy Armentrout; his youngest brother, Dan Gauthier; his lifetime friend, Ernie LeBlanc; his nephew, Corey Pinette; his nieces, Heather and Kelley Gauthier, Dominique DuTremble, Juliana French, Marena Jones; grandnephews, Elijah and Ethan; Ernie's sons, Will and Arthur LeBlanc; and other dearly loved family members and friends.

Look up to heaven and know he is grateful for all of the love he garnered into his heart - and into God's. He is happy to be home with his loving boss. Thank you to our Lord, our God for sharing with us the Reverend Donald F. Gauthier Jr.

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SERVICES: On Sunday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m., the Rite of Reception of the Body will take place at Our Lady of the Mountains Church, 2905 White Mountain Highway, North Conway. Father Gauthier will lie in repose in the church until 7 p.m., concluding with Evening Prayer.

On Monday, Sept. 30, Father Gauthier will lie in repose at Our Lady of the Mountains Church, North Conway, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. The Most Reverend Peter A. Libasci, Bishop of Manchester, will preside at a Mass of Christian burial in Our Lady of the Mountains Church on Monday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m. The Rite of Committal will be celebrated privately at a future date.

Furber and White Funeral Home, 2925 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, is in charge of arrangements.

If you would like to send a sympathy card or note to the family, please send it to the following address: Dan Gauthier, P.O. Box 243, Berlin, N.H. 03570.

Memorial donations may be made to The Gibson Center for Senior Services, North Conway; Catholic Charities, North Conway; or the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire, Concord. Each of these organizations provide valuable resources and services locally to those who live here in the Mount Washington Valley and within our beloved state of New Hampshire.