Colebrook News & Sentinel Obituaries, Colebrook, New Hampshire, from September 10, 2003 Copyright retained by the newspaper. Permission recieved to include in the USGenWeb Archives. DIANE GOULET Mrs. Diane Bertha (Robichaud) Goulet, 64, of West Stew-artstown, died on Tuesday, September 2, 2003 at the Coös County Nursing Hospital. Mrs. Goulet was born on September 10, 1938, in Methuen, Mass., the daughter of the late Armand and Blanche (Palmer) Robichaud. She was married to her husband, Roger Goulet, on October 14, 1956. She was an assembly worker for ITT and E.J. Systems, and performed clerical work for the Internal Revenue Service. She and her husband owned and operated the Sunshine Inn, formerly known as the Chicken Hut, in Stewartstown for five years before turning the restaurant into M&F Supply. She enjoyed dining out, dancing, singing and going for walks. She also enjoyed going to Foxwoods and will be remembered for her laughter and love of life. Mrs. Goulet is survived by her husband, Roger Goulet, of West Stewartstown; five children, Lynda Gleason and husband Michael of Colebrook, Denise Weston and husband Jeff of Colebrook, Bob Goulet of Methuen, Mass., Lori Joyce and husband Tom of Windham, N.H. and Bill Goulet and wife Tina of Alabama; a sister, Nancy Paradis, and husband Butch of Salem; twenty-one grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Mrs. Goulet is preceded in death by her brother, Bob Robichaud, and a sister, Peggy Whipple. Calling hours were held on Wednesday evening, September 3 at the Jenkins Funeral Home, with a prayer service at the funeral home with The Reverend Albert Bellefeuille as celebrant. A private family service will be held at a later date. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Mrs. Goulet may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Greater New Hampshire Chapter, PO Box 207, Concord, NH 03302. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRED JOHNSON JR. Frederick Hosmer Johnson Jr., 92, of Canaan, died at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook early on September 6, 2003. Mr. Johnson was born in Providence, R.I., on March 30, 1911, the son of Frederick H. and Sallie P. (Hall) Johnson. He was raised and schooled in Northboro, Mass. He trained as a pipe organ builder in Buffalo, N.Y., and as a piano tuner and technician in Boston. In the early 1930s he rode the train to the Upper Valley and began his piano tuning career, by pedaling his bicycle from job to job and living in a spare room in the Dewing House in Norwich. With his brother, Allen, he established the Music and Recording Studio in Hanover, but as his piano and organ business grew, he left the studio to pursue these other interests full-time. In 1937 he was married to Ethelyn Watson of Leominster, Mass. That same year they purchased their beloved farm on Brigham Hill in Norwich, Vt. Over the years they raised oxen, registered Hereford cattle, horses, and pigs. They had a large sugarbush and typically made 20 to 30 gallons of maple syrup each spring. Together they raised four sons. By the late 1950s, with pianos taking up space in most of the rooms of the house, Fred and Ethelyn decided to get out of farming and turn their large cow barn into a modern piano showroom. It eventually housed hundreds of new and used pianos, including several Steinway concert grands which were available for use by traveling world-class pianists. Frederick Johnson Pianos, Inc., remained on Brigham Hill until 1972, when it moved into larger quarters in White River Jct. Mr. Johnson was a man of many interests. In addition to his piano and organ business he also established a sound and lighting business. For years Fred provided generator power, public address systems, stage lighting, and race timing services for fairs, carnivals and commencements throughout New England, including Dartmouth football games, ski races and carnival outdoor evenings. He provided sound and lighting for the Norwich, Tunbridge, Plymouth, Barton, Lyndonville, Lancaster and Deerfield fairs, sound and communication for ski jumping on the big hills in Berlin, N.H., and Brattleboro, Vt., and for several years at the Lyme Rock, Conn., and Watkins Glen auto races. Mr. Johnson also had an interest in real estate, restoring the brick Converse House on Main Street in Norwich, restoring the house and barn and establishing an eight-acre conservation pond at the Rix Farm in Sharon. He developed apartment buildings in Hanover and Lebanon, N.H., and at one time purchased the Fairlee, Vt., railroad station to house a branch piano store. He also owned land in Deming, N.M. Upon his retirement he continued his real estate ventures by buying a farm and land in Canaan. Upon their retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson purchased a motor home and traveled extensively around the country. In 1978 they sold their Brigham Hill Farm and settled in Canaan to help youngest son Bill establish his dairy farm. They loved the North Country and farming, and were active for years doing chores and taking care of calves. Mrs. Johnson died in 1999 at the Coös County Nursing Hospital in West Stew-artstown; Mr. Johnson, out of appreciation for the loving care the home had given his wife, continued to volunteer there right up to a month before he died. Mr. Johnson was one of a kind. With only a high school education he was at ease with educators, politicians and celebrities. He was a true intellectual, always interested in learning new things, studying and debating issues, listening late into the night to C-SPAN and the CBC, entertaining himself by reading Plato, Emerson, and his beloved Celia Thaxter. He spent untold hours researching his family genealogy. He had a wide circle of friends and touched many lives. He was frugal, self-deprecating, and generous, always helping those less fortunate than himself. He is survived by his four sons, Frederick III of New Port Richey, Fla., Richard of Hartland, Vt., Philip of West Hartford, Vt., and William of Canaan; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Coös County Nursing Hospital in West Stewartstown. A celebration of Mr. Johnson¹s life will be held at a later date. Newman Funeral Home was entrusted with arrangements. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MELANIE VALLEE Melanie G. Vallee, 87, of Stewartstown, died on Thursday, September 4, 2003 at the Coös County Nursing Hospital in West Stewartstown. She was born on April 12, 1916 in Thetford Mines, Quebec, the daughter of Gedeon and Leona (Rheaume) Vallee. Ms. Vallee attended school in Canada. She moved to the United States in 1928 and travelled to Lewiston, Maine, where she worked for many years in textile manufacturing. Upon retirement she moved to Colebrook, and for the past eleven years she had been a resident at the Coös County Nursing Hospital. Ms. Vallee is survived by three sisters, Yolande Boutin of Sawyerville, Quebec, Marie Anna Derocher of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Eva Jalbert of Lewiston, Maine. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday morning, September 6 at St. Brendan's Church in Colebrook, with the Reverend Albert Bellefeuille officiating. Burial was in St. Peter's Cemetery in Lewiston. Newman Funeral Home was entrusted with arrangements.