Our beloved Ronald passed away peacefully at Harbor Hill Center in Belfast, ME after a recent decline in his health. He was born to Denise Raymond and Lauretta (Payette) Brunelle on July 6, 1934 in Haverhill, MA. Ron attended St. James Catholic High School. While in H.S. he worked at a pharmacy where a beautiful girl, Betty Jennings frequented every Saturday night for a soda. He asked Betty to meet him at a dance at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and even gave her the 25 cents for her admission. She became the love of his life. After high school, he continued his education at Merrimack College in Andover, MA where he graduated with a B.S. in Medical Technology in 1955; being a member of the first graduating class of Medical Technology from Merrimack College (a memory he cherished and shared often in his life).
Ron & Betty married on October 1, 1955. They started their family life together in Haverhill, MA. He travelled each day to Boston where he was a Laboratory Research Medical Technologist at Deaconess Women’s Hospital. In 1966 Ron & Betty moved their family to Yarmouth, ME where they would live for the next 19 years. Ron worked as a Research Scientist for the Foundation for Blood Research. While at the Foundation he left his mark on the medical field with ground breaking discoveries and achievements in the new field of Genetics; specifically identifying Blood-Borne Pathogens and industry leading Auto-Immunology Research on Arthritis, Lupus & HIV/AIDS. Ron retired from Laboratory Research in 1995.
Ron had many interests with his keenest interest being sports. He liked playing sports as much as watching them. He was a superb candlepin bowler playing in a competitive all-male bowling league and with his wife Betty in a coed league. He also loved golfing. While not achieving a low handicap, he surely enjoyed golfing, retiring to Myrtle Beach, SC where he and Betty enjoyed many retirement years hitting approach chip shots to the greens. He thoroughly enjoyed watching his kids play sports, and could often be seen in the stands filling out a “shooting chart” or taking “detailed notes” to share later. He enjoyed coaching his son’s little league baseball teams. He loved watching sports as well, specifically Coastal Carolina University while in Myrtle Beach and his New England teams when in New England. Ron loved music, playing the slide guitar and singing. He considered himself an advanced paint-by-number artist and often gave away his paintings as gifts. Later in life he enjoyed trips to Las Vegas and spending time completing crossword puzzles. As his health started to decline, Ron & Betty made the decision to move to Rockland, ME in 2016 where he spent the remaining years of his life.
Ron is predeceased by Raymond & Lauretta Brunelle (parents) and Norman and Donna Brunelle (brother and sister-in-law). Those he left behind to cherish his memory are his wife of 67 years Betty (Jennings) Brunelle of Rockland, ME and children Maureen (Brunelle) Gallagher and husband Lloyd of Kissimmee, FL and their children Richard Traynor Jr, Brian Gallagher and wife Marioly, and Sean Gallagher and wife Michelle; Ronald (Sonny) Brunelle Jr. and wife Wanda of Terryville, CT and their sons Aaron Brunelle and Corey Brunelle; Raymond Brunelle and wife Aprillyn of Yarmouth, ME and their children Brie (Brunelle) Newsome and husband Jonathon, Alexandra (Lexie) Brunelle, and Kyle Brunelle; Michelle Wiley of Rockland, ME and daughter Leah Wiley; and Marianne Brunelle and partner Robert Hamel of Sabattus, ME and her daughters Erika Toner and husband Joseph, Jessica Abbott and husband Ron, and Devyn Russell. He also is survived by brother Louis Brunelle and husband Melvin Heidt of Berlin, NH and cousin Norma (Payette) Galvin of Homosassa, FL. He leaves behind many great grandchildren Christopher and Caitlyn Gallagher, Addison Gallagher, Declan and Keagan Newsome, Elijah, Hannah and Jonah Wiley, Ethan Lenentine, Brayden and Landon Toner, and Bingham and Aubrey Abbott and many nephews, nieces, and friends.
Rev. Michelle M Wiley will officiate a private family service & burial on Friday, October 7th, at 10 a.m. at Lindquist Funeral Home, 1 Mayberry Ln in Yarmouth ME and a graveside service to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, 75 Smith St., Yarmouth, ME. There will be a Celebration of Life for Ron on Saturday, October 8th, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Lindquist Funeral Home, 1 Mayberry Lane, Yarmouth.
You may share your memories or condolences at www.lindquistfuneralhome.com and if you wish, you can make a donation in Ron’s memory to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
