Theodore "Theo" Joseph Thibodeau, DDS, of Scituate, Massachusetts, passed from this world midday February 26, 2021, joining his wife of 53 years, Alice, 14 months after her own passage, and son Christopher, late of of New York, 6 months after his. He is missed and remembered by his brother Philippe “Father Phil” Antoine Thibodeau; children Theodore “Ted” Joseph Thibodeau Jr of Massachusetts, Michael Joseph Thibodeau of Massachusetts, and Alice Samantha “Mandy” Dreyer of New York; grandchildren Joshua, Justin, Triston, Alastar, Anastasia, Seraphina, Henry Harrison, and Philippe; great-grandchild Jacob as well as hundreds of informally adopted children, young and old, who needed, wanted, or accepted his sometimes-curmudgeonly care.
Born March 13, 1942 to Estelle Muriel (Jobin) and Ralph Joseph Thibodeau, Esq., he grew up in several places, from Newton Center and Wollaston, MA, to Old Town and Waldoboro, ME. While at Boston College ('64), he met his "M'Alice", and they married in November, 1966. Together they joined the Navy, she serving in Charlestown MA until pregnancy cancelled that tour, and he in Maryland while attending Georgetown Dental School ('68), and finishing his service in Philadelphia PA.
They lived briefly in Washington, DC, Collingswood, NJ, and Lynn, MA, before settling in Scituate, MA, in 1970, where their home supported family, friends, and pets of many sorts. A scant year later, in 1971, “Dr. T.” opened his practice, "Dentistry for Chickens… and other Sensitive People," at Queen Anne's Corner in Norwell, MA, which he remodeled several times after the original buildout, with able (and not-so-able) assistance from whichever children were interested, adding fish-tanks, draperies, murals, shingled interior walls, room-specific sound systems, and various other things to transport patients elsewhere, while he worked on their teeth. He volunteered to teach dental hygiene to elementary school children, and to read in other classrooms, for decades.
He found joy in singing alongside Alice with the University Chorale of Boston College, as well as the choir of St Mary’s in Scituate; leading Boy Scout Troop #5 for several years, while sons Michael and Christopher were Scouts; and being an active member of the EarthSpirit Community, whose events he attended with Alice from 1991 until travel became a burden.
A life-long learner and voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction, typically with a book in his pocket, another in the car, several more bedside, and several dozen more in the "to be read" pile, he taught himself various kinds of home-building while repairing the 300+ year old farmhouse at "Almost Acre Farm", from re-siding, to deck building, to wallpapering, to remodeling and fully re-plumbing a bathroom. He also had strong interests in homesteading-style farming from organic gardening to raising chickens, boat building, classical orchestral and choral music, and science fiction.
In light of his passion for politics and ardent support of unions — a couple more things he shared with Alice — in lieu of flowers, please donate to the Democratic National Committee.
Due to the current COVID situation, there will be no immediate ceremonies. A celebration of his life will be scheduled at some point in the future, probably in the first quarter of 2022.
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