Joel Morneault Gallery
About Joel Morneault’s early studies were in the St. John Valley. In Madawaska he attended Evangeline and St. Thomas schools, in St. Basile, New Brunswick, he attended Academie St. Joseph; and in St. Agatha he attended Notre Dame de la Sagesse. He then attended Sacred Heart University, Bathurst, New Brunswick. This was followed by Boston Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education and certificate in piano. This was followed by postgraduate studies at Boston University. His teaching career, for 31 years, was in the public schools as a band and choral director. He taught in Bucksport, Edmundston, New Brunswick, and Falmouth, and his last 18 years were in Fort Kent. Throughout these years, he also served as church organist and choir director. He had an honorary life membership with the Knights of Columbus and Joel was a third degree member of Council No. 1934 of Fort Kent. He was also a member of Maine State Retired Teachers Association, AGO-American Guild of Organists and Maine Music Educators Association. He played for dances for 35 years, banquets and weddings, including more than 600 receptions. He was a composer of various works for piano, organ, choirs, Masses, and vocal solos. With their three children now on their own, he and his wife, Lise, now retired, resided in Bangor, where he worked for a few years at Coastal Music Store. In his retirement, Joel, as an ecumenical organist, served 35 different churches in the Bangor area with 12 different denominations. He had researched and completed genealogy on his family tree back to his first ancestor who arrived from France 300 years ago. He then wrote and published four volumes of biographical family histories: I-Morneault, II-Martin, III-Autobiography and IV-Levesque and Soucy.
Memoirs of Alice Michaud Cyr, 1868-1960
Peter Archambault: Mr. Peter Archambault was an artist at the University of Maine who was in the Faculty of Education in the audio-visual department. His cartoons of Beau Frog started in 1976 and follows the political and cultural history of Franco Americans in Maine and elsewhere in the United States.
Reginald Boucher Paintings
January 27, 1928 – December 8, 2016
Reginald Boucher, born in 1928 in Madawaska, Maine was the oldest son of Eva (Clavette) and O’Neil Boucher, Sr. He had 5 siblings, O’Neil, Jr, Doris, Clarence, Sandra and Andrea.
He graduated from Madawaska High School in 1946 and continued to work at Fraser Paper Company. He enlisted in the Army September 9, 1946. Upon his return from military service he returned to Fraser Paper Company and joined the reserves. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he was called into service in July of 1950 and served in Seoul, Korea in the 48th Field Artillery.
He married Lucille Marquis in April of 1950 and while in Korea, his first of 3 daughters, Sharon, was born. He was father to Sharon Boucher, Joyce Theriault and Nancy Boucher, who all grew up in Madawaska, Maine. He was grandfather to Jennifer A. Gatlin, Melissa A. Cyr and Christina A. Marshall. He was great-grandfather to Andrew Gatlin, Noah, Owen, Gabe, Will, Jena, Tess & Emma Cyr and Clara Marshall.
Always having an artistic inclination, his love letters to his wife from Korea, always ended with beautiful drawings. They wrote faithfully to each other every day. Once he returned from Korea, normal life carried on and he had little time to devote to his artistic pursuits. It was only when all three girls had graduated high school and left home that art once again came to the forefront.
Slowly, he started oil painting, and from the very first brush stroke, his love of the medium was apparent. He was a prolific painter, but only had one showing, at the University of Maine in Fort Kent, where he sold several paintings. Though the showing was successful and affirming of his talents, he preferred to give away his paintings to family and friends, rather than showing and selling to the public. A self-taught artist, he didn’t follow any particular genre, trying and perfecting various styles and methods. A true lover of nature, his art reflected his love of the winter season, flowers and his wife.
He died on December 8, 2016, but his art lives on in all of the lives he touched, as a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, friend and artist.
