William A. Gaudreau

William A. Gaudreau, 88, of 287 West St., formerly of East Rochester, NH, died peacefully after a period of failing health on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026. He was the husband of the late Janice M. Gaudreau for 44 years.

Born at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, MA., on Dec 06, 1937, the son and oldest child of the late William A. Gaudreau, Sr and Beatice J. (Houle-Roy) Gaudreau.

Bill was a U.S. Military Veteran who proudly served in the United States Navy for more than 20yrs, retiring on the USS Constitution in 1976 as a Yeoman 1st Class. While on active duty, he served as an Administrative Specialist responsible for clerical, secretarial and personnel support. His first duty assignment was working for the Dept. of Defense in the Pentagon in Washington D.C. His most memorable event was being assigned to the USS Lake Champlain in May of 1961 as part of and witness to the recovery of the first Astronaut Alan Shepard and the Freedom 7 space capsule from the Atlantic Ocean after splashdown following the historic 15-minute suborbital flight; He was in direct support while participating in the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) where hostile actions were encountered while assigned to the defined water area of the mission; and his most talked about assignment was serving as direct support to Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, "Father of Nuclear Navy" while based out of Windsor Locks, CT., during the oversight of the naval nuclear propulsion program and the testing of prototype reactors. Upon retiring from the US Navy, he worked for the Boston Museum of Science. From 1976 to 1994 he was a Civilian Contracting Inspector for the DOD Defense Logistics Agency.

Bill is survived by his three daughters: Michelle Thompson and her husband Gary, Pamela Devivo and husband Tom, Rebecca Gaudreau; 5811three grandchildren: Tiffany Di Pietro and her husband Michael, Melanie Miela and her wife Natalie Thomas, Brett W. Ellis; two great grandchildren: Samantha & Juliette. -to whom he was lovingly known as "Pepere Go-Go"; his sister Jacqueline Vose, his brother Richard Gaudreau; many nieces, nephews and cousins whom he loved so much.

He was pre-deceased by the mother of his children Norma A. Jette and their daughter Karen S. Gaudreau, brother-in-law Lester Vose; sister-in-law Yvette Gaudreau.

Wild Bill was a man of many dreams who had no sand in his shoes with a suitcase always packed and ready to travel. He loved fishing, camping, spelunking, hiking, canoeing, random road trips, and antiquing, solo or with his family. His hobby was creating stained glass.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 27th, from 4-7pm at the Foley- Cook New Day Funeral Home, 126 S. Main St., Attleboro, MA 02703. Interment will be in the Spring at the Massachusetts National Cemetery on Cape Cod.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bill's honor to the St. Jude’s foundation memorials@stjude.org.