We created a memorial page to celebrate the life of Pete (Clarence Joseph) LaSonde. Collecting your stories and memories here will offer us great comfort. Click on the heart to let us know you were here and to receive email updates. Thank you for contributing to this lasting memorial.
We have designated... see moreWe created a memorial page to celebrate the life of Pete (Clarence Joseph) LaSonde. Collecting your stories and memories here will offer us great comfort. Click on the heart to let us know you were here and to receive email updates. Thank you for contributing to this lasting memorial.
We have designated the Hudson Community Food Pantry as a charity to give to in Pete's memory, but he would have been delighted by any act of kindness put out into the universe.
OBITUARY
To the same house I've come anew,To the same spaces, the western towers(C'est ici la maison de Dieu)Where this time is the time beforeIn my own footsteps. My hands touchThe same eternity at this door,I know infinity as then.And in the arched and changeless light,In this forever where againI walk as I, as certainly-The stones, the nave, the aisle, the choir-Time has a stop, and not for me.-"Return to Chartres" by May Sarton, found in a... see more
To the same house I've come anew, To the same spaces, the western towers (C'est ici la maison de Dieu)
Where this time is the time before In my own footsteps. My hands touch The same eternity at this door,
I know infinity as then. And in the arched and changeless light, In this forever where again
I walk as I, as certainly- The stones, the nave, the aisle, the choir- Time has a stop, and not for me.
-"Return to Chartres" by May Sarton, found in a book of selected poems gifted to Pete by his wife, Bev
Pete came into my life during the earlier years in my 31 year career at Brookhaven at Lexington. I was Director of Resident Services during those years and the residents in our wonderful community benefitted greatly having him with us as a group of... morePete came into my life during the earlier years in my 31 year career at Brookhaven at Lexington. I was Director of Resident Services during those years and the residents in our wonderful community benefitted greatly having him with us as a group of residents in our Spiritual Outreach Committee attempted to meet the spiritual needs of a very diverse group of residents. Pete was an incredible fit for us and I am forever grateful that our paths crossed and he was able to be with us to help navigate through those challenging times. I will never forget calling him right after the 9/11 tragedy and saying, "Pete, I don't know exactly what we should do, but we need to give our residents an outlet for their grief and horror, and a formal opportunity to share their emotions." Both he and you, Mallory, wrote a beautiful service and came to us to share that time and start the healing process. Pete also did some of my own family memorials which were profoundly personal and wonderful because of the man, the friend and spiritual healer that he was. My sincere condolences to the whole family. He will always be with you, of that I'm sure. less
We always loved when Pete would will fill in for Andrea and George, and lead the worship services at the First Church of Deerfield. Twenty five years ago, (almost to the day) Pete preached a sermon in Deerfield entitled, "Being a Branch". He... moreWe always loved when Pete would will fill in for Andrea and George, and lead the worship services at the First Church of Deerfield. Twenty five years ago, (almost to the day) Pete preached a sermon in Deerfield entitled, "Being a Branch". He was kind enough to send me a copy of the sermon, which I read at least once a year. It has become like an old friend to me. There is one part of this sermon that I continue to carry with me, and it goes like this....
"There are times when I wish I felt better, or was younger, or wiser, or stronger, or whatever. When I'm feeling particularly out of sorts, with my place and situation in life, I play a little game. I look around me and say, which of these people would I like to be? I can make one switch, just one, and it will be permanent, but I can be anyone I choose. I can have their beauty, or youth, or wealth, or whatever it is that is most appealing about them, and of course, in the process, I can be rid of all these unappealing and painful things I don't like about myself. What a deal!
Then, inevitably, I begin to think, well, what things do you suppose they find painful about themselves? I've got to take those too, whatever they may be. Then I remember that all my memories will be gone, replaced by someone else's. I will no longer have my family, or my friends or my work or all the funny (sad, or interesting, or informative) stories I remember. It's about then that I begin to realize that I don't want to make such a switch: I'm just too bound to what I have--to what I am. And then I realize that is good. " Pete, thank you for being the person God called you to be, and realizing that was good. And, thank you for sharing that person with all of us. less
Clarence Joseph LaSonde, called Pete from the day of his birth, died peacefully on March 29, 2022, just 3 months shy of his 94th birthday.
He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 15, 1928 to Louisa Denoyelle and Joseph Alexander LaSonde. He... moreClarence Joseph LaSonde, called Pete from the day of his birth, died peacefully on March 29, 2022, just 3 months shy of his 94th birthday.
He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, June 15, 1928 to Louisa Denoyelle and Joseph Alexander LaSonde. He attended Worcester schools and graduated in 1946. He met his future wife, Beverly Joyce Norcross, in high school and they married in 1950, just after he was drafted.
Their first child, Andrea, was born in late 1951 and the family lived on Army bases in Texas, California, and Oklahoma while he completed officer’s training and flight school. He then served as the sole member of the ‘Aviation Section’ of the 740th Field Artillery Battalion for two years in Korea.
Pete returned to the States in 1955 and completed his BS in Electrical Engineering Magna Cum Laude at the University of Massachusetts in 3 years, working nights and summers. He graduated in 1958, the year his second child, Christopher, was born, and joined Lincoln Laboratories.
Very soon after he joined Lincoln Laboratories, he was asked to be part of the creation of The Mitre Corporation where he worked for 30 years on projects such as SAGE air defense and NADGE (NATO Air Defense). During that time, the family moved several times, eventually settling in Lexington, MA, as he led various projects around the country. In 1961, his youngest child, a daughter Mallory, was born.
It was also during this time that he discovered a love of theater and became very active, with his wife, in the Bedford Players where he acted, worked behind the scenes and produced a number of shows, taking time off from the Players only when he and Bev moved the family to Belgium for 2 years for his work with NATO.
Starting in 1962, he and Bev took the children to Star Island every summer for the All Star Family Conference, where they served as Conference Chairs one year. He continued to attend with the family through 1990, and was a member of the Star Island Corporation for several years.
In 1987, after a last trip with Bev to Santiago, Spain, she died of ovarian cancer just after their first grandchild, Philippa, was born. After Bev’s death, he took early retirement and to follow his daughter into ministry. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 1991. Rather than serving in a parish, he found his work at the Boston Christian Counseling Center where he worked for 14 years in counseling, teaching, and leading spirituality groups as a triple cancer survivor.
Following his retirement from BCCC, he volunteered as a case worker for the Department of Children and Families, and loved teaching English as a Second Language.
In 2015, he moved from Lexington to the Meadows at New Horizons in Marlboro where he said the morning after moving in, ‘I should have done this years ago!’ He went on to form many new friendships there, cherishing visits from family, and surviving the COVID epidemic in a safe environment.
He is survived by his daughters and son, three grandchildren, and one adored great-grandson.
I had the honor and privilege of working with Pete in his capacity as a community volunteer with DCF. My "Pete Days" were my favorite. Pete had amazing stores and insights and I loved hearing him share stories of his upbringing and... moreI had the honor and privilege of working with Pete in his capacity as a community volunteer with DCF. My "Pete Days" were my favorite. Pete had amazing stores and insights and I loved hearing him share stories of his upbringing and experiences with his own children, grand-children, great-grandchildren all of whom he adored. He shared one story with me about hiking with one of his son's that touched my heart. He loved you all so much. Pete was incredibly insightful about the needs of others. I truly cared for him and was saddened to hear this new today. May his spirt live on in all the good he did for the world. less