He was born in Lewiston, July 8, 1949, the son of Roland and Pauline Lagasse Hamel and graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1971. He spent most of his life working for AC Electric in the electric motor repair industry in both the Auburn and Bangor shops.
He loved the New England Patriots, crossword puzzles, fishing and traveling. He particularly loved traveling during the Christmas season, where he delighted in being the “Santa” or Papa Noel for the children and travelers alike. His grandchildren referred to him as Santa also.
He is survived by his loving wife of forty-nine years, Elizabeth “Betty” Wallace Hamel; a daughter Lee Tyler and her companion, Kris Tokarz of Gilmanton Iron Works, NH.; three sisters, Rolande Cunningham of Mechanic Falls, Sandy Paradie of Litchfield and Debra Hamel of Mechanic Falls; a brother Richard Hamel of Brookline, MA and two grandchildren, Eric Simmons of Bristol, CT and Lynsey Tyler of Portsmouth, NH. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Friends and family may gather at 10 a.m. Friday, April 21 to be followed at 11. a.m. by a Celebration of his life at Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick. Interment with Military honors will follow at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Civic Center Drive, Augusta.
For those unable to attend, condolences to the family may be expressed and a Tribute of his life viewed at www.brackettfuneralhome.c om
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org
We would like to sincerely thank all of the nursing staff, respiratory staff and physicians in the ICU at Mid Coast Hospital for the incredible support and care that he and the family were given.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less