Quechee, VT - Joseph P. DesMeules, 97, died Thursday, February 8, 2018 at Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH following a brief illness.

Joseph was born March 19, 1920, "St. Joseph's Day," in Cambridge, Mass., a son of Phamphile DesMeules and Victoria DuBreuil. A Cambridge, Mass. native, Joseph (affectionately known as "Joe") attended and graduated from the Ringe Technical School. He was predeceased by his wife, Irene, sisters, Geraldine, Edna and Rollande, and three brothers, Gilbert, George, and Adrian.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Joe joined the Navy and became an air crew member supplying American and Allied ships stationed in the Pacific. Upon returning from service, he met Irene Sylvester, who was to become his beloved wife and to whom he was happily married for 68 years before her death in 2015. The couple lived in Winchester, Mass. and Joe began working in the newspaper and printing business, eventually working for the Boston Globe, initially as a type setter and later as a linotype operator, occupations from which he retired after 31 years at the age of 63. In 1984, after Joe's retirement, Joe and his wife, Irene, moved to Quechee, Vermont where they spent many happy years together enjoying the company of all their new friends.

As an individual growing up during the War and the Great Depression, Joe developed an approach to life significantly influenced by his experiences and the austere times of this period. He and Irene raised two sons, and in true post-war determination, he focused on providing for his family and he did this with focus, determination and hard work. He developed his own approach to all things related to family long before there was any formal "guidance" on such matters. Many of the children in Winchester knew him as Mr. DesMeules, especially on the ice where he could be found organizing a hockey pick up game on any of several ponds in Winchester, especially Winter, Long Pond or the Mystic Lakes. He played hockey into his 80s, providing many memorable experiences to his sons, grandsons and granddaughters. He also loved playing tennis and was often found at the Parkhurst Courts in Winchester, and later as an active and regular member of the Quechee Tennis Community.

Reading was important to Joe, and he passed this passion on to his sons. Art too had a constant presence in his life and that of his family with frequent trips to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Decordova, and others. Joe built furniture and made carvings of snakes and birds, later designing signs and hiking sticks for close friends. Joe imparted to his sons his love of music attending Boston Pops' concerts in Symphony Hall, and at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River. He played the violin as a boy and later in life he taught himself how to play the recorder. He loved jazz, but he also had a large selection of records covering a wide range of musical styles. He brought science and nature to his sons through frequent trips to the Fells Reservation in Winchester hunting for snakes, salamanders, frogs, butterflies and other interesting Flora and Fauna. Any story about Joe would not be complete without mentioning adventure and mountain climbing and he "formalized" this through his creation of the Aberjona Geographic Society and it's very own flag, carried to the summit of every family climb (and there were many) in the spirit of Hillary's successful Everest ascent in 1963.

Joe is survived by his sons, Peter J. DesMeules, and wife, Ellen, of North Pomfret, Vermont; daughters, Emily and Hadley, and Mark P. DesMeules and wife, Dale, of Alna, Maine; sons Stewart and Mark.

A memorial service will be held in the Hilltop Cemetery in Quechee at 11:30 AM on May, the 12th.

Condolences to Joe's family may be made in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhome.com.

In remembrance of Joe, contributions can be made to the Hartford Historical Society P. O. Box 547, Hartford, VT 05047-0547 or to the Connecticut River Conservatory ,15 Bank Row, Greenfield, MA 01301.