Walter W. LeClair

Walter W. LeClair, 75, of Chatham, Massachusetts passed away peacefully on March 3, 2011 at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH whilesurrounded by his loving familyand after a courageous battle with cancer.

Walter was born on April 14, 1935 in Goffstown, NH, the adopted son of the late Paul and Pearl (LeClerc) Gordon. He had attended schools in Roxbury, MA.

Walter joined the Merchant Marines at age 17 but was soon drafted into the U.S. Army where he served a paratrooper while stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. After faithfully serving his country, Walter returned to a life on the ocean and retired in 1990 from Sea-LandServices in Port Elizabeth, NJ after working there for over 30 years.

Walter enjoyed fishing and was an avid boater. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Chatham and often assisted the churches outreach program by helping the homeless. Walter rose through the degrees in Freemasonry while affiliated with the Major General Henry Knox Lodge in Boston and the Winthrop Lodge in Winthrop, MA. He was conferred a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and was an active and noble member of the Cape Cod Shrine Club for many years.

Walterwas preceded in death by his birth mother, Lucille (LeClerc) Dyment and her husband Irvin.

He is survived by his brother Ralph LeClaire and his wife Natalie of Nashua, NH; his sister Gail Hukki and her husband Peter of Summerville, South Carolina; his niece, Denise Kincaid and her husband Thomas of Milford, NH; five nephews, Paul LeClaire and his wife Beth of Mont Pleasant, SC, Raymond LeClaire and his wife Ann of Merrimack, NH, and Christopher, David and Eric Hukki; a step-brother, JimDyment andhis wife Sandra of Pittsfield, NH, and many cousins and close friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making memorial contributions in Walters name to the Community Hospice House, 210 Naticook Road, Merrimack, NH 03054

At Walters request, there will be no calling hours.

Graveside services with full military honors will be held on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:30PM at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, in Bourne, MA. Rev. Clinton E. Parker of the First United Methodist Church in Chatham will officiate.