Normand R. Menard

WEST BOYLSTON-Normand Ronald Menard, 100, a decorated World War II veteran and fixture of the West Boylston community, passed away at home on Monday.

Normand is survived by Irene (Richard), his beloved wife of 77 years and seven children, Ronald Menard and his partner Barbara Shaw of West Boylston; Cecile Lindberg and her husband David of West Boylston; Suzanne Andersen and her husband Robert of East Longmeadow; Diane Keefe and her husband Timothy of Hampton Falls, NH; Paul Menard and his wife Virginia of Kennebunk, ME; Linda Desnoyers and her husband Sylvain of Hudson and Carol Moylan and her husband Kevin of West Boylston. Normand is survived by 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. 

Born in 1924 in Claremont, N.H., Normand moved to Worcester in 1939, graduating from Commerce High School in 1943. Almost immediately, he enlisted in the United States Army to serve his country at the height of World War II. 

Stationed in England as a tech sergeant for the Eighth U.S. Army Air Corps, 457th bomber group, Normand manned a gun turret of the B-17 “Flying Fortress” in 23 combat missions over Germany. For his many air battles above hostile enemy territory, he was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Clusters. In 2021, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour Medal of Honor, France’s highest service award, for his bravery in the European Theater. 

Normand was honorably discharged in 1945, and on May 10, 1947, Normand married Irene, the love of his life. Devout Catholics, they met while parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Worcester, and soon found a lifelong parish in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in West Boylston. 

Normand, through his successful business and tireless public service since the 1960s, was well respected in the West Boylston community. Menard’s Auto Body, which Normand established in Worcester in 1958 and relocated to West Boylston in 1963, is now a third-generation family business. Normand was equally generous with its success, sponsoring town Little League teams for decades and mentoring youth interested in the trade. 

He served 30 years on the West Boylston Fire Department, including as lieutenant of Ladder No. 1, and organized and chaired the town’s first Conservation Commission in 1972. Normand served as trustee of the Mount Vernon Cemetery for 27 years. He served as a past Commander of West Boylston’s Harold N. Keith American Legion Post 204 and was a member of VFW Post 6907. Normand was President of the Central Mass. Automobile Rebuilders Assoc., and for more than a decade served as a director of the Worcester Better Business Assoc. 

When he wasn’t working or volunteering, Normand was an avid outdoorsman. He fished most of the northern lakes in Vermont and New Hampshire and treasured his annual hunting trips with his friends and his sons. Normand frequently golfed at Wachusett Country Club and was an avid downhill skier with his family and friends until the age of 89. Above all else, he loved being with his family for weekly dinners and Sunday cards. 

 Visiting Hours are Friday, November 22 from 4 to 7pm at Fay Brothers Funeral Home, 1 West Boylston St. A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, November 23 at 11am in Our Lady of Good Counsel, 111 Worcester St. Burial will follow at Mt. Vernon Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the West Boylston Firefighters Assoc., 39 Worcester St., W. Boylston, MA 01583; the Harold N. Keith American Legion Post 204, 159 Hartwell St., W. Boylston, MA 01583; or Quilts of Valor at Charlton Sewing Center (Group 15307), 12 Stafford St., Charlton, MA 01507.