Francis A. Levasseur, 92, of Salem, NH, passed away on May11th at Holy Family Hospital. He was born August 7, 1920 in Manchester, NH and settled in Lawrence, MA with his wife Alice M. (Mailhot) Levasseur, who passed away in July 2012. After sixty years in Lawrence, Francis and Alice moved to Haverhill, MA where they resided for twelve years before moving to Salem, NH to live with their devoted daughter, Diane and her husband Helio Leal.
At an early age, Francis began working at Bellows Market in Manchester, NH as an errand boy and later as a meat cutter. Francis joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 until 1939. He worked for the Pacific Mills as a weaver and loom fixer, Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, Oxford Paper and Tyler Rubber. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII as a machine gunner with Company K, 314th Infantry, 79th Division. Francis landed on Omaha Beach in the Normandy invasion on D-Day. He was captured on August 23, 1944 and imprisoned as a P.O.W. for ten months, first in Stalag 7A, Mooseburg, Germany, then in 1945 at Mark Pangau Camp 18C, Austria. He was liberated on May 13, 1945 by the 101st Airborne and was honorably discharged from the Army on November 14, 1945. He received several service ribbons and medals for his military service.
Francis was a man of great fortitude and faith. He was a loving and devoted husband, father and friend. He was a self-taught man, proud of his work ethic. He had a talent for pencil and charcoal drawing and wrote poetry in his younger years. He enjoyed the simple things of life and possessed a good sense of humor. Francis was predeceased by his wife Alice (Mailhot) Levasseur, his mother Ida (Beauchesne) Levasseur, his father Ivon Levasseur, his brother Robert Levasseur and sister Florence Blanchette.
He leaves his three loving and devoted daughters: Janet Levasseur of Weymouth, MA, Diane and her husband Helio Leal of Salem, NH and Denise Casey of Springfield, CO; four grandchildren: Amy Leal, Steven Leal, Tara Gaughan, all of Salem, NH and Adam Anthony of Kingman, AZ; five great-grandchildren: Hannah Lafreniere, Brigette and Brody Gaughan, Ella and Dylan Anthony, and several nieces and nephews.
Calling hours will be Tuesday, May 14th from 3-7 PM at Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home, 214 Main St. (Route 97), Salem, NH. For directions and on-line condolences see www.douglasandjohnson.com or call 603-898-8848. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday at 10 AM at St. Joseph Church, Main St., Salem, NH. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Burial will be at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, 110 DW Highway, Rte. 3, Boscawen, NH.