Francis Dufault M.D. Jr.

1928 - 2017

Francis X. Dufault, Jr. MD, 89

WORCESTER - Francis X. Dufault, Jr., MD, 89, passed away peacefully at home at The Willows at Worcester on Saturday, February 18, 2017. Born in Gardner and raised in Athol, Frank was the son of the late Dr. Francis X. and Lina T. (Thibeault) Dufault and lived 58 years in Worcester.

Frank was a graduate of Assumption Preparatory School and Assumption College, both in Worcester, and received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and post medical training in Boston, Memphis, TN and Pittsburgh, PA. While in medical school in Boston, Frank met and fell in love with a beautiful young lady by the name of Loraine McCarthy, a registered nurse at New England Medical Center, now Brigham and Women's Medical Center. They married on October 2, 1954 at St. Kieran's Church in Berlin, NH and moved to Worcester in 1959 where they raised their six children.

He proudly served his country as a Flight Surgeon in the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force in Maine and Greenland during the Korean Conflict and the Cold War. He came to Worcester in 1958 to serve as Chief Resident and Assistant Director of Medical Education at Worcester City Hospital. He achieved certification and recertification by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Fellowship in the American College of Physicians, and membership in the American Academy of Allergy. In 1959, he established a private practice of internal medicine at 328 Highland Street. In 1982, he was joined by Dr. Michael Galica to create Adult Care Physicians. Later, Dr. Daniel Massarelli joined the practice which remained at that site until it was moved to the Hahnemann building in 1995. He retired from practice in 2003.

Frank served on the medical staffs of Worcester City, Fairlawn and Memorial Hospitals as well as UMass Medical Center where he served as a staff officer and President of the Staff. His primary affiliation was with Hahnemann Hospital where he served in a variety of positions including: Trustee, Staff President, Medical Director and, for many years, Physician in Chief. After the merger of Hahnemann, Holden and Memorial Hospitals, he also served as Medical Director of the resultant Medical Center of Central Massachusetts.

He enjoyed a long association with UMass Medical School, from acting as mentor to a member of its first class in 1970, to founding and directing its first primary care internal medicine residency affiliation at Hahnemann Hospital. He served on the committee of the Worcester District Medical Society which voted to combine its medical library with the new Medical School. He also served as co-chair of the faculty committee that recommended the establishment of the Department of Community and Family Medicine. He was promoted to the academic rank of Professor in 1981 and served on the Faculty Executive Council for a number of years thereafter. Prior to and after retirement he served on the Patient Care Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Frank also held executive positions with the Worcester District Medical Society, and the Massachusetts chapters of the American College of Physicians and American Society of Internal Medicine. His directorships of community organizations included: Assumption Preparatory School, The Council on Aging of the City of Worcester, Central Massachusetts Health Care, The Medical Research Institute and the Worcester Area Health Services Action Council. His trusteeships included: Hahnemann Hospital, Hahnemann Holden Health Systems, Intercare, The Medical Center of Central Massachusetts and The Worcester Medical Library.

Frank was a respected diagnostician among his fellow physicians and always felt it an honor and privilege to practice medicine. He was a lifetime learner and was recently active at the Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE) at Assumption College. In his earlier years, Frank enjoyed playing basketball and played for both Assumption Prep and Assumption College. He enjoyed golfing with his family and friends and was a longtime member at Tatnuck Country Club in Worcester. Frank also enjoyed his membership at the Worcester Club.

Frank's life was centered in faith and family. He was a member of Blessed Sacrament Church in Worcester and the Assumption College Alumni Association. He traveled the world with his wife, Loraine, enjoyed summers spent at his lake house on Stiles Lake in Leicester, and cherished times spent with his children and grandchildren. He was proud of his children and their many accomplishments and will be remembered for his keen sense of humor, selfless nature and devotion to his family.

He will be lovingly remembered and missed by his wife of 62 years, Loraine M. (McCarthy) Dufault; his children, Suzanne M. Dufault of Holden, Francis X. Dufault III and his wife, Gail Holland of Worcester, Christopher D. Dufault and his wife, Bonnie of Holden, Anne Davenport and her husband, Dwight of Princeton, and John B. Dufault and his wife, Cheryl of Chatham; seven beloved grandchildren, Moira Dufault of Waltham, Katherine Dufault of Worcester, Olivia Dufault of Holden, Chase and Keith Davenport, both of Princeton, and Charles and Will Dufault of Chatham; two sisters-in-law, Lucille Dufault of Holden and Christine Dufault of Evian-les-Bains, France; and many dear nieces and nephews. Frank is predeceased by a son, Charles H. Dufault, and three brothers, Claude B., John P. and Charles E. Dufault.

Calling hours will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 23, at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Assumption College, 500 Salisbury St., Worcester. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Frank's name to the Charles Dufault Scholarship Fund at the Mass Audubon's Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 414 Massasoit Rd., Worcester, MA 01604, and the Dufault Family Scholarship Fund at Assumption College. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit

www.milesfuneralhome.com