David Lavallee

David A Lavallee, 88, of Blackstone, MA died peacefully on Saturday, April 19 after a lengthy struggle with prostate cancer. A retired meat cutter, he was a descendant of the 1665 Carignan regiment of Quebec on his paternal side and the 1620 Plymouth colony on his maternal side. He was born in Woonsocket in 1936 to Jean-Baptiste David Lavallee (1904-1954) and Florence Mabel (Brown) Lavallee (1910-1991). His twin brother Carleton died the day after he was born.

David's family lived in a small apartment at 315 Wood Avenue in Woonsocket throughout his childhood. He became the first in his family to enter high school when he was accepted into Mount Saint Charles academy in 1949. When he was 16 he began working at Collamati's market in Woonsocket as a bag boy. After graduating high school in 1953, he began training as a meat cutter. When David was 17, his father died at home after a lengthy illness. Pall bearers at his father's funeral included David's friends Gerry Phaneuf and Mike Hebert (1935-2021).

David enlisted in the army in 1956. After basic training at Fort Dix in NJ, he spent a few months at Fort Lewis near Seattle before shipping out to Fort Richardson in Alaska with friends Joe Cammeyer and Leno Brunetti. When his enlistment was finished, he went back to work at Collamati's where he met his wife, Noella (Renaud) Lavallee. They were married in 1959 at Assumption church in Bellingham, MA. His best man was Bob Joubert, with Ronnie Barrows (1934-1998) and Leo Renaud (1942-2021) as ushers.

David worked at Collamati's in Woonsocket and Bellingham until the chain was sold to Almacs in 1965. David and Noella lived on Garden street in Woonsocket until 1967 when they moved to Susan Parkway in Uxbridge. He worked in the meat department at Almacs in Blackstone until they closed the store in 1995. David enjoyed swimming, bowling, fishing, playing cards and especially bragging about his children. He leaves his wife Noella, sister Linda Lavallee, children David Lavallee (Lucy), Melissa Meehan and Kim Costa (Douglas) and grandchildren Samantha, Jake, and Preston. He was predeceased by his brother Dwight Lavallee (1946-2002).

Per David's wishes, there will not be calling hours or a funeral. Special thanks to everyone at the Rose Monahan hospice in Worcester. They would be happy to accept any donations in David's name.

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