Roland "Bill" Carignan, 83, of Concord, NH, longtime resident of Manchester, died July 3, 2006 at Concord Hospital after a brief illness.
He was born in Manchester on September 20, 1922, the son of Frederick and Leocadie (Lefebvre) Carignan. He attended Straw School and was a 1941 graduate of Manchester High School Central. He also attended Brewster Academy and Marianapolis Prep School. Mr. Carignan was awarded a full scholarship to play football at Boston College, however decided to serve his country in WWII.
He was a WWII US Navy veteran, having served in the South Pacific and Japan.
Mr. Carignan retired from the City of Manchester Parks and Recreation where he worked as the first and only program director.
Prior to that, he had been employed as a Manchester Police Officer for 14 years. He was a highly decorated officer and attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the department.
Bill was an outstanding athlete, having lettered in all sports at Central High School and was inducted into the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame. He served Ward 2 as alderman in the early 1980's and was very active in numerous social and civic organizations. Among his many contributions to the city, he instituted the Carignan Amateur Softball League.
Since retirement, he loved spending his winters in Bradenton, Florida and summers in Belmont, NH.
Members of his family include his wife of 59 years, Mary (Ecker) Carignan of Concord; one son, William Carignan of Manchester; four daughters, Patricia Beaulieu of Hooksett, Sandra Sukiennik of Concord, June Keusch of Concord, and Ann Demers of Concord; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one sister, Eva Chouinard of Hooksett; a nephew and niece.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated in St. Joseph Cathedral on Friday July 7, 2006. Burial followed in the NH State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 495 Old Connecticut Path, Suite 220, Framingham, MA 01701.