Joseph R. Comeau Jr. of East Bridgewater, formerly of Hanson, passed away on May 21 at the age of 87. Born in Boston, MA he was the son of the late Joseph R. and Rachel (Cadieux) Comeau of Roxbury, MA. He was the brother of the late Ruth Fitzgerald of Florida. He cherished memories of spending his childhood summers alongside his cousins with his Uncle Rene and Aunt Germaine Cote on the family farm in Derry, NH.
He graduated from Mechanic Arts High School in 1945. He was a member of the Blue Devils football team in his teens and continued to play into his adulthood on several town leagues. He was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corp and served his country during World War II. He loved to play sports and was a member of the Sigma Instruments softball and golf teams as well as several bowling teams at Timber Lanes in Abington. Running was Joseph's life-long passion and he was one of the original members of The Colonial Road Runners in Abington. Joseph enjoyed the beauty of Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Abington and had run there for nearly 60 years. He ran over 70,000 miles during the course of his running career. He ran The Boston Marathon several times as well as biathlons, triathlons and enjoyed many years of running alongside his friends.
Joseph worked for Sigma Instruments in Braintree, MA for many years as a Production Control Manager and later worked for The Joseph Pollak Corporation in both Boston and Stoughton, MA.
He is survived by his daughters Robin Genetti of Vermont and Melodye Cyr of East Bridgewater, MA, and his son Matthew Comeau of Middleboro, MA. He was the loving grandfather of Jessica Cyr of Oregon. He was the dear friend of Deborah Comeau of Marshfield Hills, MA and the stepfather of Christine Jones of Rockland, MA. He is also survived by a niece and nephews in Florida and his loyal K-9 companion Tyson.
Joseph had a strong love and appreciation for nature and enjoyed walking through World's End in Hingham, going for beach walks and exploring many nature preserves in New England.
A memorial gathering will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to The Trustees of Reservations at www.thetrustees.com/donate or can be mailed to: The Trustees of Reservations at Long Hill, Attention: Development, 572 Essex Street Beverly, MA 01915 or by calling 978-921-1944 Ext. 8817