Capt. Louis A. Doucette, 95, of Fairhaven, the oldest living skipper in the New Bedford fishing fleet, died Thursday November 16, 2006 at St. Luke's Hospital after a brief illness. He was the husband of the late Irene D. (Zygiel) Doucette.
Born in Edgartown, the son of the late Louis A. and Mary Jane (Upton) Doucette, he lived in Fairhaven for most of his life.
He was a communicant of St. Joseph's Church.
Mr. Doucette was a fishing captain on various vessels out of the Port of New Bedford for many years until his retirement.
He was a member of the New Bedford Fishermen's Union.
Survivors include four children, Carole E. Pendergast and her husband John of Fairhaven, Betty Ann Zelski and her husband Richard, and Albert L. Doucette and his wife Louise, all of Mattapoisett, and Paul J. Doucette and his wife Sandra of New Bedford; a brother, Richard Doucette of Keene, NH; a sister, Loretta Doucette of Falmouth; 13 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
He was the grandfather of the late Michele Spangler, great-grandfather of the late David and Bethany Spangler and Rory Pendergast, and brother of the late Margaret Harney, Josephine Bauer, Evangeline Murphy, Mary Freeman, and Herbert Doucette.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday at 11:30 AM in St. Joseph's Church, Fairhaven. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 4-8 PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.