Rejean Poisson

Rejean "Reggie" Poisson of Hooksett, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on April 14 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 78 years old.

Born on a farm in Kingsey Falls, Québec, his family moved to the United States when he was a young boy to build a new life in America. A photo of their Québec farm hung proudly on his wall all these years.

On his 19th birthday he walked into the US Army recruiting office in Manchester and enlisted — not yet a citizen, but eager to serve his adopted country.

He trained as a UH-1 helicopter mechanic — crew-certified on the iconic Huey — and served in Vietnam with the Americal Division’s medevac crews. He was part of the team that flew in to bring wounded soldiers out.

He returned home in 1968 having earned the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Expert Badge (Rifle), and the Aircraft Crewman Badge.

After his time in Vietnam he was naturalized as an American citizen, and was honorably discharged in 1969.

Back in New Hampshire, Reggie built a family and a home to be proud of. He married Cecile Tremblay, and together they raised four children — Alain, John, Brian, and Jessica — setting down lifelong roots in Hooksett.

He joined Anheuser-Busch at their newly-opened Merrimack brewery, and stayed until he retired 39 years later. He worked the line — packaging, bottling, and eventually the brew house — moving through nearly every corner of the plant and becoming the kind of man who knew everyone, and who could do anything asked of him.

He was a proud member of Teamsters Local 633, and he believed in personal commitment and the dignity of hard work.

Among family and friends, Reggie was famously generous with his time — happy to help however he could, and usually the first to arrive.

At home he tended a garden that his children would describe as unreasonably large, but which yielded crops and life lessons in equal measure.

He is survived by Cecile, his wife of 56 years; his son Alain and his wife Karen; his son John; his son Brian and his wife Melissa; his daughter Jessica and her husband Michael Plummer; and six loving grandchildren who knew him as Pépère.

He is also survived by his sister Louise and her husband Russell Brow; his brother David and his wife Shari; and his brother Marc and his partner Brian Rak.

He was preceded in death by his parents René and Marielle Poisson, his sisters Nicole and Francine, and his brother Michel.

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Family and friends are invited to a wake at Lambert’s Funeral Home in Manchester on Tuesday, April 21 from 4pm to 7pm. A memorial service will be held at Lambert’s the following morning, Wednesday, April 22, at 10am, followed by a committal ceremony with military honors at NH Veteran’s Cemetery in Boscawen.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in Reggie’s name to support Alzheimer’s research at https://www.alz.org/