The recent celebrations of D-Day in Normandy, France, pointed out how few of our heroes of World War II remain among us. Shortly thereafter, in Laconia, one of the best of the best turned 104 years old on June 30, and then died on July 7. John E. Gauthier was a special New Hampshire man and a proud American.
Born in 1920 in Laconia, Gauthier did not have an easy childhood, and was lucky to be raised by his grandparents, Perley and Josephine Cross. He often referred to them as “the two most wonderful people.” They saw to it that he knew how to work, went to school, and graduated from Laconia High School, which he did in 1938.
Gauthier went to work at Pratt & Whitney in Hartford, Connecticut, after high school. Soon, the winds of war summoned him to the U.S. Army, where he joined as a private but wanted to fly in the Army Air Corps. He qualified for officer candidate school, graduated, and became a fighter pilot through WWII. After the war, he remained a member of the reserves for another 30 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Flying was a core part of Gauthier’s being, and he continued to fly in the reserves, and also as a civilian. For a number of years, he co-owned and flew daily commuter flights from Laconia Airport to Logan Airport in Boston, early in the morning and late in the day. He continued to fly until age 84 and jumped out of a plane for a parachute jump when he was about 90, to the chagrin of his children and his own delight.
Gauthier married a childhood sweetheart, Katherine Harriman, who had been in the first grade with him, in 1944 while stationed at Napier Field. Shortly thereafter, their daughter JoAnne was born in 1945. She was joined by a brother, John Allan, in 1949 in Laconia.
Returning home after the war, Gauthier went to work for auto dealer Walter Woodward as a salesman. In 1954, with the encouragement of Woodward and some serious trepidation, Gauthier purchased Woodward’s Chrysler and GMC Truck dealership. Active in dealership matters, Gauthier was instrumental in forming the auto dealers worker’s compensation trust. He received numerous awards citing him as the epitome of an honest car dealer, and was active in the NH Automobile Dealers Association. Chrysler recognized him as a quality dealer on several occasions.
Active in the community, he was a member of the Laconia Congregational Church and served on its board of directors, was past president of local ski clubs, chief of the Belknap Area (now Gunstock) Ski Patrol, life trustee of Laconia Savings Bank (now Bank of New Hampshire), and 20-year member of the Laconia Airport Authority, where he was instrumental in the lengthening of its runway, allowing private jet access.
He was a director of the local hospital, and headed the condominium associations where he lived in Laconia and Florida.
His wife developed a serious sickness, and Gauthier was a devoted caregiver right up to the time of her death in 1988. He then semi-retired, although he remained very active in business and civic activities in Laconia and then his adopted Naples, and later Bonita Springs, Florida.
At his 50th reunion for Laconia High School, widower Gauthier became reacquainted with another classmate, Louise Eastman Niles, who also lived in Florida and was single. After an interesting courtship in which he would fly his plane from Naples to Daytona Beach, the couple was married in 1990 in Laconia, and were married for about 25 years.
I had the honor to get to know Gauthier as his second wife, Louise, was my mother’s sister, and they grew up on Union Street in Laconia. Over the years, it was my pleasure to benefit from the basic honesty and decency of this man, whose advice about life, child raising and business, was both practical and wise, but never imposed, just suggested.
When he faced adversity, his basic attitude was he had done it before, and he faced it, accepted it and dealt with it, never complaining. He was generous, he was appreciative of help, and he played the hand he was dealt, losing two wives after long illnesses and a daughter.
It was not how long John Gauthier lived, it was how he lived it, that counted. His community and state are lucky he was here, and diminished by his passing.
Coming up soon
As the political races take shape, it is interesting that New Hampshire has an open governorship and second congressional seat with no incumbent, the president of the Senate is not running again, and all 424 seats in the Legislature are up for grabs. As we all get closer to the September primary, and then the November election, there will be plenty to consider, not even thinking about national races. Stay tuned.
Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. The views expressed in this column are his own. He can be reached at bradfordcook01@gmail.com.