Armand L. Lavallee

Armand L. Lavallee, of Manchester, passed away peacefully on April 23, 2020.

He was born in Delmas, Saskatchewan, Canada on May 13, 1930, the son of Adrien and Rose Anna (Trottier) Lavallee.

He came to Manchester as a teenager at the age of 14 from a rural life with younger sisters, Claire and Doris. He was an industrious young man with many skills. He did not spend too much time in high school, quitting school to find work in Manchester. He would work for the shoe shine shop near the Union Leader, bring meals to relatives working in the mills and eventually joining the Army Air Corps which became the Air Force.

Before marrying, Armand worked in one of the shoe shops on Silver Street. He told the story that when he worked there he made many enemies. He was on piece work and was a cutter for heels or soles. Evidently his piece work count was more than what others were making. He would take his tools home every night and sharpen them resulting in extra pay.

In September of 1952 he married Jeannette R. Corriveau, from Manchester. They had six children, Normand, Raymond (deceased), Diane, Michael, Marc and David.

Early on he had purchased a rooming house and joined and worked for the Air Force National Guard at Grenier Field. In 1963 he explored moving his family to the West Coast. Unfortunately that dream had to be delayed until 1976.

Between 1963 and 1976 Armand became a master plumber and independent contractor. Jeannette had her hands full with the six children. In 1976 Armand and Jeannette packed up with the three youngest sons and bought land and built a home and buildings from nothing. He grew over a 1000 acres of grain annually, along with a large hog farm operation. Over the years he raised cattle, buffalo, and elk.

Armand fulfilled his dream of realizing a farmer's life that he recalled as a child and brought Jeannette along for the ride. They spent 25 years "living the dream" in St Paul, Alberta, Canada. He still was not done working though. When Armand and Jeannette came back to Manchester in their 70's, he started to learn more about computers and for the last 15 years of his life he became a day trader.

He was still driving until his last stroke in December of 2019. He was always independent, strong willed and hard working and was the boss until the very end. He was a man who accomplished everything in life that he set out to do while being the greatest provider and example to his family for many generations to come.

Family and work were very important to him. Pepere will be missed.

Armand was predeceased by a son, Raymond, and a sister, Doris Dugrenier.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jeannette (Corriveau) Lavallee; five children, Normand Lavallee and wife, Patricia, Marc Lavallee and Diane Ferland and husband, Raymond, all of Manchester, Michael Lavallee and wife, Dawn, and David Lavallee all of St Paul, Alberta, Canada; a sister, Claire Roy of Manchester; 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

SERVICES: There are no services at this time. A celebration of Armand's life will take place at a later date. Private burial is at the NH State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.

Memorial donations may be made to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation at www.dystonia-foundation.org

Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, Manchester is assisting the family with arrangements.