Born in Roxton Falls, Upton, Quebec, Canada, Roger was the son of Honoré Étienne Lagasse and Annette Blanche Baril.
The family moved to Waterbury in 1937 and lived on South Main Street. A communicant of Saint Anne’s Church in Waterbury, Roger attended the former École Saint Anne parochial and Leavenworth High schools before enlisting in the US Navy on December 7, 1948.
He served aboard the USS Newport News (CA-148) from 1949 to 1952, earning the Navy Occupation Service Medal for tours of duty in Europe. The top graduate of the U.S. Naval Electrician’s Mate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois, he went on to achieve the rank of Electrician’s Mate, First Class, before he was honorably discharged on November 21, 1952.
Following his service in the Navy, Roger became an apprenticed carpenter and was an active member of the Carpenter’s Local Union in Waterbury. In addition to working his trade, he formed two business partnerships with his sisters Jannette Stevens and Bella Nadeau, owning and managing several multifamily homes on South Main Street in Waterbury.
Roger loved being outdoors and spending time with Thérèse gardening, hiking, biking, camping, and sailing, activities which brought him much joy. Together with his brother-in-law, Ralph Stevens, he set about on many sailing adventures. One notable trip started as a Connecticut-to-Bermuda run on a rather small trimaran. The boat was rendered disabled in a storm, setting them adrift at sea, but ended happily with a Coast Guard rescue to Hamilton, Bermuda. Undaunted, Roger would set out on many more sailing adventures, inspiring his kids with the same love for the sea. He loved bicycling from the time he was a teenager and continued cycling well into his sixties. He would recruit his kids, nieces, nephews, and later his grandsons, to join him on a cycling jaunt, often outlasting the younger members of his cycling group. Every summer, he and Thérèse could be found camping in the big red camper truck at Burlingame State Park in Rhode Island, meeting up with lifelong camping friends, enjoying the many beautiful beaches, teaching himself to windsurf, taking his grandchildren out for adventures in his inflatable rowboat, and making precious family memories.
A talented and skillful jack-of-all trades, whether carpentry, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or automotive, Roger was undeterred when challenged with a problem, persisting until he found the perfect solution. And regardless of the task at hand, he would be singing or whistling a tune. He was quick to help anyone who asked and passed on his skills to all who were eager to learn. He hand-crafted his massive tool bench, and amassed an impressive arsenal of tools, as well as an attic full of bicycle parts, because you never know who would need a bicycle.
Roger was predeceased by his wife of thirty-four years, Thérèse Lucile Duval, and an infant daughter, Linda Marie, born and died in 1969, sisters, Bella Nadeau and Pearl Montagano, brothers-in-law Homer Nadeau, Ralph Stevens, and Dom Montagano and two nephews, Albert Nadeau and John Lagasse.
He leaves his two children, Susan Mostowy and her husband, Mark of Draguignan, France, and Mark and his loving partner Carol Hartfield of Bristol, two grandchildren, Michael Mostowy and his wife Melissa of Middletown, and Jason Mostowy of Washington, D.C., Carol’s children Colleen, Lindsey, and Connor; and he was “great pépère” to Nikola and Morgan. He is survived by his sister, Jannette Stevens of Thomaston and two brothers, Paul E. Lagasse and his wife, Betty of Waterbury, and John H. Lagasse and his wife, Kathy of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and will be missed by many friends he has met during his lifetime.
His family is very grateful for the care and concern he received from all the physicians, nursing, and administrative staff of Southington Care Center, who not only made him physically comfortable for the last six years of his life but also laughed along with him at his endless repertoire of jokes. Susan and Mark are especially grateful for the diligent guidance, financial oversight, and emotional support given to them by their aunt, Jannette Stevens.
Calling hours are Thursday, October 28, 5 pm – 7 pm at Della Vecchia Funeral Home, 211 North Main Street, Southington. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, October 29, at 10 am at St. Dominic Church, 1050 Flanders Road, Southington. In accordance with his wishes, Roger will be cremated. Burial with full military honors will be at Calvary Cemetery on East Main Street in Waterbury at the family’s convenience.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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