Emile A. Chagnon, Jr. 90
Born on the 4th of July in 1928, Emile Chagnon Jr. was a patriotic American, an involved citizen and an eternal optimist.
Despite a childhood in the Great Depression, Emile found fun and adventure scouting with his friends in the then wilderness of south Nashua. As a teenager he unloaded freight cars at his father’s lumber yard after school and looked forward to Friday nights at the Commodore Ballroom in Lowell, dancing to Glenn Miller and the other big bands of the era. After graduating from UNH in 1951 with a degree in Business he married the girl of his dreams, a lovely Rivier College student named Doe Auger. He would always refer to their wedding day as the happiest of his life.
The newlyweds were soon off to London, where Chagnon served as a lieutenant in the Air Force during the Korean War. Forfeiting his own dream of traveling the world as an Air Force officer, he returned home at his father’s request to run the lumber company. Eventually, his two sons, Brit and Charlie, his daughter Michelle and wife Doe would join the family business and would expand it to include truss manufacturing and custom kitchen design. By the 1970s, “Chag” was also involved in developing land throughout southern New Hampshire and the lakes region. In 1983, when Chagnon Lumber was destroyed by one of the largest fires in Nashua’s history, he rose from the ashes with an extraordinary amount of work and determination. He was named New Hampshire Lumberman of the Year in 1985.
Chag was active in the Nashua community from a young age. At 30 he co-founded Richelieu, a French-speaking club that supports Nashua charities. He was a member of Nashua Rotary for 58 years, taking pride in the club’s philanthropy and serving as its president in 1987. In the 70’s he spent a decade as president of what is now the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center, supporting families in need and assisting them with housing.
Chag was a savvy bridge and chess player and had a life-long passion for travel, visiting over thirty countries with family and friends. He and Doe found joy in their five children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Many have spent extensive time in France thanks to the lasting friendship Chag formed as an exchange student with a wonderful Bordeaux family in 1950. For this, and for the kind of life that Dad provided for us with hard work and sacrifice, we his children will be forever grateful. As our beloved brother Charlie once wrote in a poetic tribute,
“Your blood, sweat and tears gave us country club years
Carefree days at the pool were so great.
But Dad, you weren’t there, you worked more than your share
And stayed up with the blueprints so late.
We’ll treasure forever our time spent together
We couldn’t have asked for much more,
You always shine true, you’re the red, white and blue
Thanks, Dad, for the ‘good life’ galore.”
The family is planning a private service. To send an on line message of condolence please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com
