Obituary of Richard J. Dube

Richard Joseph Dube, beloved husband of the late Carol Ann (Jacques) Dube for 62 years, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on February 11, 2026, following a brief ailment at Pilgrim Rehabilitation, Peabody, MA, at age 91. He was born in Winchendon, MA, in 1934 and graduated from Winchendon’s Murdock High School in 1953.

Richard (Dick) was the son of the late Paul Etienne and Lumina M. (Desmarais) Dube. From 1967 to the present, he has been a resident of Billerica, MA, subsequent to several moves prior to this final Billerica location.

After graduating from high school, he worked for JC Penney in Gardner for a short time before enlisting in the USAF in January of 1954 during the Korean Conflict. After Basic Training, he was sent to Jet Engine School at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, IL. From Chanute he was sent to Hunter AFB in Savannah, GA, where he was a member of the 308th Periodic Maintenance Squadron of the Strategic Air Command, working on B-47 jet engines. While at Hunter AFB, he participated in two temporary duty assignments (TDY) to Sidi Slimane, Morocco. Following nearly four years of service, Dick was honorably discharged from the USAF in Nov. 1957.

Following his discharge from the USAF, Dick again worked at JC Penney in Gardner before being accepted at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in Amherst in 1958. After attending for four years, Dick graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, BSME, degree in 1962.

He married Carol A. Jacques (of Gardner, MA) on Dec. 26, 1959. Carol worked in the Dairy and Animal Science Dept. of UMass Amherst from 1960 to 1962 while Dick attended school. One of the most memorable times of their lives was renting the bottom half of a beautiful little house in North Hadley during these years. This house was not far from tobacco farms and the Connecticut River.

Following graduation from UMass, Dick went to work for New England Electric System (NEES). His primary assignment while with NEES was the Brayton Pt. Station located in Somerset, MA. Following this job, Dick worked for Metcalf & Eddy in Boston and later spent 22 years at Stone &

Webster Engineering Corp. (SWEC), also in Boston. From SWEC he went to Riley Stoker in Worcester from which he retired in 2002.

Dick was a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in the states of Massachusetts and New York. He was also a Life Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Dick spent most of his career preventing pollutants from entering the atmosphere by participating in the purchase, installation, and testing of equipment such as precipitators, low NOx burners, etc. used in large power plants that generate electricity for thousands of households.

In addition, in the mid-1980’s, Dick was co-chair of the St. Theresa building committee involved in the design and construction of a new Parish Center in Billerica. The Parish Center was dedicated in October, 1986 and has been in use ever since that time.

Dick took loving care of Carol full time from his retirement in 2002 until she passed in January 2022. Dick was a natural caregiver and he dedicated his life to making sure that Carol was as comfortable and loved as she could be. His engineering nature ensured that he was always modifying or creating something to make Carol’s life better. Seeing Carol and Dick together was always special. They had an obvious deep love and respect for each other.

He leaves his daughter and her husband, Dawn-Marie (Dube) Sutton and Jeffrey A. Sutton of Westford; his Sister-in-Law Linda Stewart of Leominster; his life-long friend Leon LaPlante, of Winchendon; and his dear friend Christine Rose of Tewksbury.

He and his family appreciated the help and support of his terrific neighbors: Ruthie Elliott, Joanie & Rob Papandreas, Joe & Phyllis McGrath and Mark & Carol Young.

A memorial visitation will be held Friday, February 20, in the Burns Funeral Home, 354 Boston Rd., (Rt. 3A), Billerica from 10:00 to 11:00, followed by a service with Military honors. Burial will be private at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Richard J. Dube should be made to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in New York, NY. For more information see ASME Foundation.