Southampton, MA – Paul Henry Lafontaine, 95 years old, beloved husband, father, uncle, godfather and grandfather, died June 13, 2026, surrounded by his three daughters at the Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst after dealing bravely with lymphoma for years. Born to Albert and Josephine (Carriere) Lafontaine in Easthampton, MA on October 31, 1930, he was the sixth of thirteen children. Paul spoke French and English when he entered school at the Notre Dame du Bon Conseil Church. He left school in the 7th grade and was responsible for the care of five younger siblings. Raised during the Depression and determined to be employed during a time of scarce work, he enrolled in Holyoke Trade School at fourteen years of age and hitchhiked to school daily. At times, drivers dropped him off at the school, while on other days he walked two miles from the drop off point. After three years, he graduated from the Automotive Mechanics Department in 1947.
Upon graduation, he worked at two automotive repair shops until he was old enough to enroll in the United States Air Force in November of 1948. After completing basic training in San Antonio, and demonstrating an aptitude for airplane mechanics, he was sent to Selfridge AFB in Michigan to work on F80s and later F86s, a jet powered fighter aircraft. He was placed on a four-man team for months to fix the leaky seals on these aircraft, becoming Crew Chief and ultimately promoted to Corporal. In May 1950, he volunteered to go to the Far East. He was stationed in Korea as an airplane mechanic from September 1950 to March 1952 working on these first transonic jet fighters during which time he was promoted to Sergeant. He was a member of American Legion Post 224 in Easthampton. In recognition of his faithful and honorable service to our nation during the Korean War, he was awarded the Korean Service Medal, United Nations Korean Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and Air Force Presidential Unit Citation, among other decorations recognizing his military service.
After his discharge from the Air Force, he was employed as a machinist at Wrap King in Holyoke where he met his future wife, Claudette Godbout, a bookkeeper, when she had to process his new employee paperwork. They married November 10, 1956, and moved to Southampton, MA where they raised their three daughters in a pink house on Wolcott Road. He took immense pride in providing for his family, later working as a machinist at Stacy Machine and US Envelope. Due to his striking good looks, he was placed in the forefront of an ad for US Envelope in 1966. He served on the Southampton Planning Board from 1966 to 1969, which he found to be an interesting position as he learned much about the town. In 1968, he began working as a Rural Route Carrier in Southampton MA, a position he held until his retirement in 1990. During that time, rural carriers had to provide their own vehicle to deliver the mail. Many an evening was spent in his garage, repairing the used International Harvester right-hand drive vehicle he bought to deliver the mail according to the motto- “Neither snow nor rain, nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers.” Once when asked if the two-mile delivery distance required for home delivery was “as the crow flies” he replied he did not deliver mail like a crow.
Noted for his common sense, “Paulie” was often called upon by his siblings for advice. Since he had taken care of his younger sisters for years, he felt confident raising three daughters and was proud to be able to finance their college education. On hot summer days, after delivering the mail, he would pack the three girls into the Harvester and drive to the DAR State Forest in Goshen for a late afternoon swim. Much time was spent playing cards at the kitchen table as well as pitch with Claudette and her family. He taught his daughters Linda and Laura to drive the riding lawnmower to mow his land of which he was quite proud. He enjoyed his vegetable garden, often lining up his tomatoes on his porch railing to ripen. Particularly fond of his dog Sheba, he would feed her cottage cheese on toast for breakfast and praise his cat Minou when she deposited a mouse at his doorstep. Most days between 4 and 5 pm you would find him at the Big Y in Southampton, a ritual he enjoyed. If something mechanical needed to be repaired, no job was too small or too large for him. If you wanted a tooth pulled, he was the man you called. His go-to phrase, “son of a gun” is recalled by all who interacted with him. In his 70s he began going to the gym and became a lifetime member of Anytime Fitness when he turned 95. In 2006, Paul and Claudette moved to a condominium complex in Southampton to escape yardwork and meet new neighbors. He particularly enjoyed his friendships with neighbors Bill Barry and Frank Matyoka, fellow gym rat Alain Benoist, and his childhood friend Francis Perrier. A devout Catholic, he was a member of the Notre Dame Church until its closing, when he became a parishioner at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield. Attending Mass followed by breakfast at a restaurant with his daughter Linda was the highlight of his weekend.
For years he travelled to Florida in the winter months to visit Claudette’s parents and relatives and work on his tan. In later years, he traveled to their timeshare in Sint Maarten for two weeks in March where he and Claudette vacationed with her sister Rita and brother-in-law Dave. Looking forward to the fall, he enjoyed an annual pilgrimage to Vermont, Claudette’s birthplace, for apples and maple syrup. He enjoyed visits to site-see in NYC where his daughter Ellen lived. Upon his retirement, he replaced his International Harvester with a small, white Toyota pickup truck, which could be seen driving the roads throughout New England. Throughout his life, “Pepere,” as he was known to his grandchildren, enjoyed traveling to celebrate family accomplishments. He thoroughly enjoyed family parties with his daughters, their spouses and all the grandchildren.
Paul will be dearly missed by his three daughters, Linda and her husband Raymond Lacourse of Southampton MA, Laura and her husband Peter Flynn of Townsend MA, and Ellen and her husband Neal Heinze of Westfield NJ, his seven grandchildren, Joseph Lacourse, Rachel Lacourse, Erin Flynn, Sarah Flynn Kokocinski, Emma Heinze, Caroline Heinze and William Heinze and great-grandchildren, Graham and Quinn Kokocinski. He also leaves his sisters Joanne, Corinne, and Cecile and his brother James, and over 50 nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by Claudette, his wife of 66 years, his parents, his brothers Ernest, Major, John, Arthur, Peter and sisters Ora, Jeannette and Alice.
The family appreciated the care he received at Baystate Medical Center Oncology Department and Cardiology, with special thanks to Dr. Chandravathi Loke and Dr. Sanjay Timilsina. Additionally, the family would also like to thank the dedicated staff at the Hospice of the Fisher Home for their compassionate care of Paul. We realized he was in “good hands” during the brief time he resided at the facility.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 127 Holyoke Street, Westfield MA 01085.
A Calling hour will be from 9 to 10AM on Friday June 19 at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 127 Holyoke Street, Westfield MA, followed by a burial mass at 10AM. Burial will be at St. Brigid Cemetery, Easthampton, MA.
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