Donald H. LeClaire Sr.

Donald H. LeClaire, Sr., 74, of Sutton, passed away peacefully in his home on Thursday, August 30, 2007.

He leaves his wife of 53 years, M. Ruth (Stefansky) LeClaire; 4 children: Donald H. LeClaire, Jr., and his wife, Robin, of Sutton, Scott M. LeClaire and his wife, Pam, of Douglas, Victoria E. Mills and her husband, Kendrick Mills, MD, of Hendersonville, TN, and Todd P. LeClaire and his partner, Reginaldo Araujo, of Dorchester; 8 grandchildren: Anna-Rae LeClaire of Sutton, Scotty LeClaire of Millbury, Amanda LeClaire of Wisconsin, and Andrew, Emily, Gregory, Anna, and Helen Mills, all of Hendersonville; 3 brothers: William LeClaire of Tampa, FL, Frederick LeClaire of South Dennis, and Edward LeClaire of Millbury, and nephews and nieces. 2 brothers: Richard LeClaire and Raymond LeClaire, both of Grafton, preceded him in death.

Donald was born in Worcester on November 18, 1932, a son of the late Frederick A. and Sylvia (Pajala) LeClaire, and was raised in Millbury. He later lived in Worcester before moving to Sutton in 1966. He was a graduate of Millbury Memorial High School, and a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War, serving as a Teletype Operator 3rd Class aboard the amphibious command ship USS TACONIC (LCC 17) in the North Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

Donald worked for 30 years as an abrasive wheelmaker at Bay State Abrasives Westborough, before retiring in 1994. After retirement, he worked for several years as a driver for AA Transportation, Shrewsbury.

He was a former member of the Millbury Federated Church. A 25-year member of the Cat Fanciers Federation, Donald was a C.F.F. All Breed Cat Judge and he judged at shows throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe since 1982. He was also President of the Central Massachusetts Feline Fanciers and a member of the Silver Society, the National Persian Breed Club, and the Massachustts Colony Cat Club. In his younger days, he coached Sutton Little League, Sutton Babe Ruth League, and Sutton Soccer for many years.

Donald's memorial service will be held at 2 PM on Sunday, September 2, in Millbury Federated Church, 20 Main St., Millbury. There are no calling hours. Donald's family requests that contributions in his memory be made payable to Eileen Mulcahy, 1031 Central St., Leominster, MA 01453. Eileen will distribute all contributions to those area animal shelters where the need is greatest.

Turgeon Funeral Home, 56 Main St., Millbury is helping with the arrangements.