Richard R. Garneau

Richard Garneau 74, of Willington, husband of Celine (Bellemare) Garneau, passed away on August 6, 2012. He was born in Canada on March 7, 1938 to the late Aureus and Fernande Garneau. He moved to Connecticut in 1953 and served in the U.S. Army until 1958. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and worked at Electro-Motive Manufacturing Company in Willimantic, CT for many years until beginning his career with the Willimantic Fire Department. After 30 years he retired as Captain to the peaceful country setting of Willington. In retirement, Richard had been employed as a driver for Dial-A-Ride. He enjoyed camping and riding in his convertible. Besides his wife of 54 years, he leaves his son Michael and daughter-in-law Darleen of Chicopee, Massachusetts, his daughter Monique and her husband John Kananowicz along with their three children Julia, Andrew, and Danielle of East Haddam. He also leaves his sister Lucielle and brother-in-law Paul Desautel, many nieces and nephews and his beloved pet Belle. He was predeceased by his first born son Daniel, his brother Dennis and sister-in-law Pauline. His family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday Aug. 9th between 6:00 and 8:00pm at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St. (Rte. 195) Willimantic. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday at 11:00am at St. Mary Church, Valley St. Willimantic, with assembly at the church. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Windham. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests memorial donations to American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312 or at www.diabetes.org . For an online memorial guestbook, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com .