Larry Joe Gougeon

Portland, ME - Larry Joe Gougeon, 76, of Portland died at Gosnell Memorial Hospice in Scarborough on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, after a lengthy illness.  He tried to exit unexpectedly, but was fortunate enough to have an assist from one of his daughters when he became stuck.  He grasped her hand and arm, and was able to tell her which way to pull to help him get to the other side.  

He was born on New Years Eve in 1936, and was the son of Phillip Goushaw and Esther (Ollar) Goushaw, both deceased.  He is survived by his brothers, Jim Goushaw, Mike Goushaw, Dave Goushaw, and Thom Goushaw, a wonderful sister, Diane Capretta, and was the brother of the late Ted Goushaw, whose mischief is still at large. He also leaves behind three daughters, Lynn Gougeon, Vickie Goushaw, and Lauren Gougeon Diedrich, and was the father of the late Matthew Gougeon, brother to Lauren, who left unexpectedly and way too soon.  He was Grandpa and Poppy Motorcycle to five grandchildren, Ian, Jordan, Gabriel, Evan, and Aubrey, and Uncle Larry to many, many nieces and nephews.  He was also survived by scores of exes, several of whom he married, all of whom are still very much alive (with the exception of Sylvia Plath, and we're still not sure, along with several of his other tales, of its absolute veracity).  But still, he was astonished to find them all inexplicably waiting for him - Gail, Elaine, Cherie, and Ann Marie most notably among them - when he stepped into the light on the other side of the tunnel.  His eyes opened wide, he smiled, looking perplexed, and exclaimed, "All my exes are here!"

He grew up in and around Detroit until his family moved to Burt, where they ran a general store (his favorite job was stocking the beer cooler).  He graduated with honors from Saginaw High School, then began his career as an electronics engineer in the United States Air Force.  This was his day job.  By night, he hung out on the outskirts of Flint and Saginaw, Michigan with bikers, rebels like Michael Moore, and fellow outlaw poets.  He managed to get payed in the 60's and 70's for falling out of airplanes, doing exhibition jumps at rock concerts and drag races.  But he wished to be know simply as "The Poet," denizen of the streets of Flint, and then Marquette, Michigan, Saint Augustine, Florida, Portland, Maine, haunter of coffee houses and poetry slams, unquenchable seeker of the open mike.  He self-published a beautifully bound book of poetry, "Food for Children," as well as several simple chapbooks.  He passed snippets of poetry and poems to literally hundreds, if not thousands, of people.  And in Portland, he was known as that "crazy, fantastic man [with whom you could] have random conversations with on park benches."  He was loved and feared and occasionally reviled, but mostly loved.  He never failed to make an impression. 

In his spirit, we will gather together in the near future to swap "Larry" stories  and celebrate his life (there will be plenty of advanced notice, with event planning and promotion, and time to prepare).  In the meantime, those who are active on Facebook will be notified of an online event which will enable friends and family to publish stories there.  Cremation services for Larry have been provided by Advantage Funeral and Cremation Services of Portland.  We were not able to carry out his first and second wishes, because they were, quite frankly, outside the parameters of the law.  We will always be happy that Dylan Verner took that lovely photo.