Robert G. Menard

BLACKSTONE - Robert Gerald Menard, 80, passed away peacefully in his home in Blackstone on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Born in Woonsocket, he was the son of the late Camille and Loretta (Bilodeau) Menard, and for nearly 60 years the beloved husband of Raymonde "Rae" (Fortin) Menard.

After graduating in 1960 from Mount Saint Charles Academy, Bob drove the delivery truck for Menard's Oil Service, a family business he later helped manage when his father died. Moving from outdoors to the office, he worked as a heating and cooling engineer for Deblois Oil for almost a decade.

Bob was a friend to everyone he met, always there to listen but also glad to share his knowledge and time with family, friends, and organizations dear to him. He was instrumental in organizing the Mount Saint Charles Alumni Council, on which he served several terms, and he advised the school on renovations of its heating system and the installation of a baseball field. A decades-long communicant of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, he was a member of the Parish Council and finance committee and oversaw major renovations of its heating system.

In a life of significant physical challenges, there was still much joy and adventure to be had. Travel brought an abundance of both as Bob and Rae took to the road often, in a succession of ever-larger vehicles. They traveled the length and breadth of North America, visiting all but a few states and the northernmost Canadian provinces, a grand tour of some 180,000 miles over 30 years. The memories remained vivid and precious, and Bob took great pleasure in recounting unforgettable experiences with people and places, many of them well off the beaten path. When the touring ended, he and Rae basked in the warmth and ease of nearly twenty South Miami winters, enjoying the close company of new and dear friends from all points of the United States and Canada.

As the world and declining health disrupted travel these last few years, Bob especially enjoyed his afternoon walk around the yard and, as weather permitted, a long nap in a favorite chair by the edge of the water where he played as a boy and where his presence will always be felt by those of us who remain. Equally felt will be the example and inspiration of his valiant and successful 50-year struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Besides his beloved wife he is survived by his sons Brian Menard, of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Carl Menard and his wife, Lisa, of Blackstone. He leaves his two cherished grandchildren, Brittni Moore and her husband, Greg, and Tyler Menard and his wife, Amanda, all of Woonsocket. His brother-in-law, Charles Gerrior, survives him. His sister, Jeanne Gerrior, predeceased him.

In April, Bob would have cradled his first great-grandchild in his arms, a moment he and Brittni and Greg dearly anticipated. And though that moment is not to be, it is just as certain that this child will forever sense Bob's warm embrace and unconditional love coursing through the whole of the family.

To honor Bob's memory - Travel far. Invite wonder. Feed the birds. Greet all warmly. Take no moment or person for granted. Cherish good health.

His funeral will be held Tuesday, February 14, 2023, beginning with visitation from 8:30 to 9:30 am at the Fournier & Fournier Funeral Home, 463 South Main St., Woonsocket, RI, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am at Holy Trinity Church, Park Ave., Woonsocket. Burial will be held in St. Jean Baptiste Cemetery in Bellingham, MA. Please visit www.fournierandfournier.com for guestbook, directions and link to live stream the Mass.

And please consider a gift to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (nationalmssociety.org) or Shriners Hospitals for Children (shrinerschildrens.org), or to another worthy cause.