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Pittsfield ME Obituaries and Death Notices
Monday, July 04, 2016Decoteau, who was 68, died from complications resulting from heart bypass surgery, according to a written statement by the Springfield Diocese. He was born in Pittsfield and grew up in North Adams.Boyle, who is the pastor of the St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham, also spoke of Decoteau’s affection for Broadway show tunes and relayed a story of how he caught the attention of former President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush when he was regaling friends in a bar in Kennebunkport, Maine. Boyle read aloud a letter from the Bush family mourning Decoteau’s death, saying “our loss is heaven’s gain … we can only imagine the singing and dancing going on there right now.”Another mourner at Friday’s service was Christine Ward of Ludlow who doesn’t belong to the Belchertown parish but often attends services there because of her affection for Decoteau going back to when she wrote him a letter about a family crisis she was going through. “He replied in a personal and beautiful way; he was a wonderful man,” she said.Tom Barry, a parishioner who was at the service as part of the Knights of Columbus honor guard, called Decoteau “an incredible man.” Barry told of how when he was about to start treatment for throat cancer three years ago, Decoteau said a prayer for him during the Sunday service but quickly added that doing so was not enough. “He told me to come to the rectory and he gave me a bottle of holy water from Lourdes,” referring to a town in France known to Catholics as a place of healing.“He made everyone feel special,” said Barry.Rev. Michael Pierz, who said he knew Decoteau well, having come to the Belchertown parish 10 months ago as a Parochial Vicar, called him “a priest’s priest” who had a “great love for and devotion to the official part of the church and the divine promise.”Pierz said he was able to pray with Decoteau shortly before he died and was able to see first hand the love his parishioners had for him. “He baptized entire generations and then married them,” said Pierz. “There are so many young parishioners who are so upset because they can’t believe that...
Pittsfield News
Monday, July 04, 2016Decoteau, who was 68, died from complications resulting from heart bypass surgery, according to a written statement by the Springfield Diocese. He was born in Pittsfield and grew up in North Adams.Boyle, who is the pastor of the St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham, also spoke of Decoteau’s affection for Broadway show tunes and relayed a story of how he caught the attention of former President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush when he was regaling friends in a bar in Kennebunkport, Maine. Boyle read aloud a letter from the Bush family mourning Decoteau’s death, saying “our loss is heaven’s gain … we can only imagine the singing and dancing going on there right now.”Another mourner at Friday’s service was Christine Ward of Ludlow who doesn’t belong to the Belchertown parish but often attends services there because of her affection for Decoteau going back to when she wrote him a letter about a family crisis she was going through. “He replied in a personal and beautiful way; he was a wonderful man,” she said.Tom Barry, a parishioner who was at the service as part of the Knights of Columbus honor guard, called Decoteau “an incredible man.” Barry told of how when he was about to start treatment for throat cancer three years ago, Decoteau said a prayer for him during the Sunday service but quickly added that doing so was not enough. “He told me to come to the rectory and he gave me a bottle of holy water from Lourdes,” referring to a town in France known to Catholics as a place of healing.“He made everyone feel special,” said Barry.Rev. Michael Pierz, who said he knew Decoteau well, having come to the Belchertown parish 10 months ago as a Parochial Vicar, called him “a priest’s priest” who had a “great love for and devotion to the official part of the church and the divine promise.”Pierz said he was able to pray with Decoteau shortly before he died and was able to see first hand the love his parishioners had for him. “He baptized entire generations and then married them,” said Pierz. “There are so many young parishioners who are so upset because they can’t believe that...
