Ben Perreault

Ben (Benoit) Perreault August 23, 1936 - August 16, 2025 Ben Perreault died one week before his 89th birthday, after a brief stay in hospice care: an accident in his home on June 2nd hastened his Alzheimer's disease and halted his cancer treatments. He was born in Berlin, New Hampshire and graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1955 as Class President. He married his high school sweetheart, Doris (Lavertue), on September 28th, 1957. Ben worked as a car mechanic at Glen Motors in Berlin, while also serving as a Sergeant E-5; Artillery Surveyor / Radar Mechanic in the NH Army National Guard and Reserve, until his Honorable Discharge in 1963. Ben and Doris welcomed their daughter Denise in 1958 and son Mark in 1959. His family bought their life-long home in Enfield, CT in 1963. Ben started his career in 1960 at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines, in East Hartford, CT as a Technician, due to his National Guard experience. He worked first as a Supervisor in Fuel Cell Instrumentation and later, in Space Flight - Power Fuel Cells - Assembly & Testing, at International Fuel Cells, United Technologies in South Windsor CT. Ben retired in 1994. Archery, Ice Hockey and Ice Skating were three passions of Ben's which he enthusiastically shared with his children. Throughout the years, he played youth hockey in Berlin and on men's hockey teams in CT. He co-founded the Enfield Hockey Association with John Nasto in 1970, serving as Co-President, Goal-Tending Coach, and Equipment Manager through 1974. Ben earned his hockey referee credentials in 1975 from Bruce Hood's International School of Refereeing in Ontario, Canada. He refereed numerous Enfield Youth and Men's league hockey games in Connecticut and Massachusetts until a skating injury left him side-lined. In 2004, Ben was awarded the George Daly Special Recognition Award by Enfield's Athletic Hall of Fame for helping to build and foster one of Connecticut's premier youth hockey leagues. After Ben's wife Doris died in 2001, he and his neighbor Bea Quesnel formed a loving 20-year partnership. In 2005, they founded the Enfield Single Seniors Group, through the Enfield Senior Center, to help local seniors find companionship. They spent many happy hours together planning and attending numerous group outings until Bea's death in 2022. Ben was a skilled and energetic build-it and fix-it guy who derived great satisfaction from cleaning and maintaining his home, yard, and vehicles. It wasn't unusual for his children's teenage friends to find their windshields freshly washed by Ben while their cars sat in his driveway. As the family's self-appointed documentarian, he snapped and shared thousands of photos with his family, friends, and colleagues through the years. Ben was predeceased by his beloved wife Doris; devoted partner Bea Quesnel; parents, Alcias and Yvonne Perrault; sister Simone (Perrault) Torro, and her husband Albert of Berlin, NH. (The spelling of Ben's last name -- with the 2nd "e" -- is due to an error on his birth certificate created by the local parish priest, and was discovered when Ben was hired by Pratt & Whitney.) He is survived by daughter Denise Perreault and her husband David Low of Boulder, CO, and their son Dustin Low and partner Natalie Grau of Seattle, WA; son Mark Perreault and his wife Linda of Granby, CT; and their daughters Lisa Umina and her husband Chris of Waltham, MA; and Michelle Perreault of Simsbury, CT. He's also survived by his lifelong friend and cousin Richard Perreault and his wife Anita of Gorham, NH; his loving and caring partner of three years, Elaine Furtak of Suffield, CT, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. The family will receive friends from 1 - 3pm on Saturday, September 20th, 2025 at Leete-Stevens Enfield Chapel, 61 South Road, Enfield, CT. Visit their website at www.leetestevens.com for more information. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a charity of your choice.