Joseph JL Charpentier

1/19/1939 - 3/26/2023

Joseph JL Charpentier passed to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at 84 Years old in the presence of his loving family on Sunday, March 26, 2023. He was born on January 19, 1939 in the small Canadian town of St. Methode Frontenac, Quebec, Canada, to Florian and Febronie (Plourde) Charpentier. He leaves behind his wife, Mariette Charpentier, to whom he was married to for 57 wonderful years. Joseph lived most of his life in Meriden; he moved here from Canada in 1948 at the age of 9.

Joseph enlisted into the United States Navy; he saw the world in his 20 years of service. His duty stations while in the service were the USS Mount Baker, USS Stickell, USS Detroit and USS Storm. He served 7 years in the Gulf of Tonking, Vietnam and also served in Novcomsta Philippines US NTC San Diego, CA., US Naval Station Chantelham, MD, Radio man A+B School Bainbridge, MD, US Navel Station Roosevelt Road, Puerto Rico. Joseph was one of just a few enlisted Navy servicemen to achieve the rank of Chief Petty Officer at the time of his retirement from the US Navy. He was also one of a select few that had top secret clearance and was instrumental in top secret Crypto communications. He received multiple awards, the shellback and the golden shellback and was honored with a distinguished award by the American Legion. One of his famous sayings to his sons when asked if he could tell them a secret was "can you keep a secret, well, so can I." Joseph was very fluent in Morse Code translation.

Joseph went on to earn many other achievements, he earned his GED while in the Navy. He attended various schools throughout his lifetime; having worked for the Red Cross in Washington DC, graduated from the National Radio Institute in Washington DC, worked on teletype and electronic repair, acquired his flying license while in Puerto Rico and took pleasure flying people to the Virgin Islands frequently. He had passion for fixing electronic devices- he was very mechanical and was always repairing vehicles, tractors, and other mechanical devices instead of calling the service man. Joseph loved playing with his computer.

Upon retirement from the US Navy to civilian life, Joseph attended Middlesex Community College on the GI Bill and stopped just short of an A.S. He worked for Cable TV as a repairman, and while working there, he obtained his electrician license. After many years at Cable TV, Joseph went on to work at Pratt & Whitney as an electrician for 20 years before retiring.

Despite living most of his life in the United States and honorably serving in the United States Navy, Joseph was a Canadian at heart. When he was young, he attended a private school in Quebec, Canada, in the town of Beauceville called the Juvenat Sacri-Coeur de Marie where he first played hockey. He played avidly as a young man and loved hockey so much that he lived the rest of his life with as one would say "hockey in his blood." Joseph coached hockey and was very involved in hockey with his sons for many years. Joseph was a dedicated hockey fan of the Quebec Nordiques, Montreal Canadians and the Pittsburg Penguins.

Joseph traveled with his beloved wife, Mariette to various places in both Canada and the US. He felt like a VIP once in his life when he sat next to the Chancelor of Germany, Helmut Kohl and his wife at the fortress of Louisburg, Nova Scotia.

Joseph was a lifetime member of the Franco-American Club (French Club) here in Meriden where he was an avid card and pool player. He was also a member of the VFW in Wallingford. He has known many and will be missed by his friends whom he made in these clubs over the years.

Joseph loved his family, especially his grandchildren, step-grandchildren and his special great-granddaughter, Angelina Valesquez. He loved all of his brothers, sisters and relatives.

In addition to his beloved wife, he is survived by his sons, Daniel Charpentier and his partner, Monica and Steven Charpentier and his wife, Rozalia; his grandchildren, Tiffany Charpentier, Stefanie Charpentier, Bethany Charpentier, Danielle Charpentier and Justin Charpentier; his great-granddaughter, Angelina Valesquez; his step-grandchildren, Francis Grove and Cynthia Milano as well as many other special children who came into his life. Joseph had many brothers and sisters, Marciel (Joan), Paul (Karen), Lucien, Claire (Chet) Nitkowski and Murielle, as well as many brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law both here in the United States and Canada. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his siblings, Real, Florence and Fernande.

Joseph's family will receive relatives and friends in The Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 N. Main St. Ext., on Friday, April 14th from 4:00 - 7:00pm. On Saturday, April 15th, visitation will be held from 10:00 - 11:00am with a funeral service beginning at 11:00am. Interment in the State Veteran's Cemetery will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joseph's memory may be made to Disabled American Veterans, www.dav.org/donate or a charity of one's choice.

www.wallingfordfh.com