Paul “Packy” Albert Kroeter, age 68, of Windham, NH, passed away Friday, September 7th at Merrimack Valley Hospice House in Haverhill, MA, surrounded by loving family and friends. Paul was born on April 16, 1944. He was the son of the late Sheldon and Marie (Gauthier) Kroeter and was the youngest of 3 children.
Known to his family and childhood friends as “Packy”, Paul was raised and educated in Warren Township, NJ and graduated from Watchung Hills Regional High School in 1962. After High School, he attended the University of Virginia, College of Engineering for 3 years on a Navy Scholarship. During this time he also attended flight school while enrolled in NROTC. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, Paul spent the next 2 years as a fighter pilot flying the F4 Phantom during the Vietnam War. He was stationed on the USS Essex, and then the USS Enterprise Super Carrier. After his discharge from the US Navy, he finished his engineering degree at the Newark College of Engineering, where he graduated with academic honors. He then worked at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ for one year before accepting a job with Defense Contractor, Raytheon Company, working in Andover and then Bedford MA. Paul retired from Raytheon with 37 years of service in 2004 as an Engineering Fellow and the Technical Director for several of their Core Programs.
A man of dignity, integrity and abiding faith, Paul touched the lives of everyone who knew him. He was a loving husband and father who took great pride in his family, each of whom were blessed by his steadfast guidance and unconditional love. He was known as a willing mentor, and a giving individual who always put the needs of others before his own. He had a passion for cars and woodworking, but was a man of many other talents.
Paul is survived by his devoted wife, Karen (Ouellette) Kroeter; son, Gregory Kroeter of Clayton NC; step-daughter, Jennifer Sabbagh of Dedham MA; brother, Fred Kroeter and wife Joan of Denville NJ; sister, Diane McKnight of Sea Girt NJ; sister-in-law, Deborah (Ouellette) Muise and husband Frank of Lowell MA; brother-in-law, Keith Ouellette and wife Leslie Baker of Malabar FL; one aunt, Ellen (Gauthier) Villers of Chelmsford MA; mother-in-law, Martha Ouellette of Lowell, MA; nephews, Douglas McKnight and Christopher Kroeter; nieces, Susan Kroeter and Jill (Kroeter) Gussis; and several great nieces and nephews.
Paul was predeceased by his first wife, Carol (Yerg) Kroeter; brother-in law, Fred McKnight; nephew, Geoffrey McKnight; and niece, Kimberly McKnight.
Family and friends are planning to honor and celebrate Paul’s life by gathering for a Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Good Counsel/St. Theresa Church, 22 Plymouth Street in Methuen on Thursday, September 13th at 11AM. Interment to follow at St Mary's Immaculate Conception Cemetery, 29 Barker Street, Lawrence, MA. Guests will be warmly received in the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home, 233 Lawrence Street in Methuen on Wednesday, September 12th from 4-8 PM. Those who wish to remember Paul by making a memorial contribution in his memory are kindly asked to consider the Merrimack Valley Hospice House, 360 North Avenue, Haverhill MA 01830.
The Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home is honored to assist the Kroeter family with arrangements.