Hector Nadeau Jr.

PORTLAND — Hector (Lee) Nadeau, Jr., 81, passed away at Maine Medical Center on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, following a period of declining health.

He was born on March 13, 1936, in Westbrook to Eda (Folsom) Nadeau and Hector L. Nadeau. He grew up on Forest Street in Westbrook and graduated from Westbrook High School in 1954.

Hector was an avid outdoorsman. As a boy, his summers were spent at the family cottage on Sebago Lake, where he excelled at waterskiing, swimming, canoeing, hunting, and fishing. He was also active in the Boy Scouts and spent many happy summers attending Camp Hinds.

Winter months found him skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing. He was a ski patrolman for many years at Pleasant Mountain (now Shawnee Peak), and enjoyed sharing his love of skiing with his family.

He began his career in 1954 at the New England Telephone Company, later known as NYNEX and then Verizon. He worked as a design engineer in Manchester, N.H., and Portland until his retirement. One of his favorite projects was designing the new phone systems for George H.W. Bush’s summer White House on Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport.

Hector was an avid New England sports fan. He was a football referee for many years and a huge Ted Williams fan. He also enjoyed a good game of golf.

Hector married his first wife Maureen Willard and settled in South Portland, where they raised their daughters Anne and Mary Lynn. He remarried Kathy Kaulakis in 1982 and they lived in Cumberland Foreside for the next 35 years. Together, they enjoyed traveling, especially to the Caribbean. Hector was an excellent chef and enjoyed cooking gourmet meals for friends and family. He also enjoyed woodworking, reading, music and politics. His cocker spaniel Kiley and schnauzer Morgan were always by his side.

Hector was a very kind, generous, and quiet, man. He will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him.

He is predeceased by his parents, and also his daughter, Mary Lynn Noyes in 2011.

He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Kathy Nadeau; his sister, Barbara Richards of Naples; his daughter, Anne Mason of Cape Elizabeth; three grandchildren; and several nieces.

The family invites you to share your condolences during visiting hours on Friday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, 199 Woodford Street, Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. at Holy Martyrs Church in Falmouth followed by a committal service. You may share your stories and offer your condolences at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com

If desired, contributions may be made in Hector’s memory to: Animal Welfare Society, 46 Holland Road, Kennebunk, ME 04043, or Cocker Spaniel Rescue of New England, Inc., PO Box 162, Greenfield, NH 03047.