Final Salute

Joseph G. Therrien
“Loving father, Master Builder, Proud SeaBee”
Joseph G. Therrien, 91, of Waterbury, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital with his family by his side. He was the beloved husband of the late Marian (Henderson) Therrien, and devoted father of three children, Derek, Kelley, and Roy, whom he raised on his own upon his wife’s passing in 1974.
Joseph was born in Sainte-Edwidge, Quebec, on December 25, 1931, a son of the late Leonide and Elienne (Thibodeau) Therrien. With axe, saw, and his native woodsman’s blood, he was stacking a cord of pulpwood an hour by his 10th birthday. Hunting rabbits and squirrels, fishing for trout, or working the farm with his family, Joe appreciated early on the value of skill and hard work. Fishing and lumber-jacking with his mentor, his dear brother Ronnie, formed some of his most cherished early memories.
Already a licensed plumber, Joe moved to the United States in 1956, where he immediately joined the Navy and quickly rose through the Seabee ranks before leaving the service in 1960. He soon met Marion at Phillip’s Diner in Woodbury, CT, and mutually smitten, the two lovebirds were married in December 1960 and soon began a family. Joe was well on his way to forging his American dream.
A construction wizard, Joe could take a wooded lot, and in a month or two, lead a team of 5 to build a beautiful custom 3000-sqft Colonial home. He built over 60 homes, and in the age before helmets, work gloves, or safety vests, never was a single man on his crew seriously injured. Accept for a few loud and colorful words here and there, often directed at himself, he was never seen to berate or argue with anyone on his crew. He lead by steadfast example alone, and his team loved him.
After retiring in 1986, Joe, forever a quiet man, enjoyed long walks with his cherished dogs, lazy evenings with a ball game on TV, and always, always, a giant breakfast. Derek lives close by him, so Joe got to see Derek and his wife Stephanie (Lonegan) raise their two wonderful children, Gabriel and Michael. Kelley and her husband Mark Henry were just a bit further down the road, in Endicott, NY, but Joe and Kelley still managed to grow closer and closer with each year, until her difficult passing in 2015. Kelley and Mark’s children Mark Jr. and Chad are a great source of pride for the entire Therrien-Henry tribe. Joe’s youngest son, Roy, lives in Washington State with his wife Shuting Chang.
Joe also leaves his younger sister, Marthe Bergeron, who lives in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Marthe is The Rock Of Gibralter of his sibling’s generation, the other six of whom have already passed. Marthe and Joe’s mother, Elienne, master-minded decades of Therrien-family summer vacations in Quebec, helping make us the family Joe always wanted when he first imagined his American Dream.
Arrangements: Joseph’s funeral will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. from Chase Parkway Memorial/The Albini Family Funeral Home, 430 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT to St. John the Evangelist Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery on Friday, June 23. Calling hours will be held on Thursday from 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home.

Published by Chase Parkway Memorial/The Albini Family Funeral Home – Waterbury on Jun. 21, 2023.