Edward Henry Cloutier, 88, of Westport died December 17, 2001 at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Mr. Cloutier was well-known in the Southeastern Massachusetts area for his community service and for his achievements during his 29-year tenure as a Professor and Coach at UMass-Dartmouth. Ed Cloutier was known as father, husband, teacher, and giver of community service.
He was the husband of Agatha C. (Mainville) Cloutier, and son of the late Joseph H. and Eva (Carroll) Cloutier.
Born in New Bedford and raised in Belmont, N.H., he also resided in Oxford, New Bedford, Dartmouth and Westport for many years. During his youth Mr. Cloutier was active in horsemanship and farm activities. In his early years, as a Member of the 4H Club of America, he was recognized at the Springfield Exposition as one of New England's early leaders in the 4H Club of New Hampshire. Mr. Cloutier was one of the first Eagle Scouts in New Hampshire and gave 45 years of services to the Boy Scouts of America, culminating with his being awarded the prestigious Saint George Award. In addition, he was a Director of the Knights of Dunamis - the National Eagle Scout Honor Society.
During the 1960's, he founded the Dartmouth Exchange Club and was a baseball coach in the Cubs and Pony Leagues. He spent 22 summers as Camp Director at Camp Seaspace in Fairhaven and Camp Nonquitt in Dartmouth. In Westport he was a seven year elected member of the Westport Planning Board and a Founding Father of the Friends of Senior Citizens of Westport. He also help obtain funding for a senior citizens bus and was their first driver.
From 1932 to 1944, he worked for Whitin Machine Works as an instructor of industrial engineering research and in 1945, by American Viscose Corporation where he was Field Engineer for their Machine Research Laboratory. In 1946, he joined Warner Swazey Corporation as the Director of the Textile Machinery Laboratory.
The remainder of his career, from 1948 to 1975, was with the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, and its predecessor colleges, as a Professor in the Textile Engineering Department. Professor Cloutier was a member and Chapter Director of Phi Psi Beta, the National Textile Honor Society. He was also a boxing and soccer coach. Of note, he coached the 1960 Soccer Team which had gone on to win the National Collegiate Soccer Championships in Slippery Rock, PA. He was elected to the University of Massachusetts Corsair Hall of Fame in 1988.
During his professional career, he became known as one of the U.S.A.'s experts in the field of High Speed Textile Machinery and was involved in the early development of astronaut gloves for NASA; seamless pantyhose; and automated high speed knitting of fabric designs. He served as a technical expert witness in patent law proceedings, on behalf of many leading commercial clothing manufacturers, such as Jantzen, Stevens, and Wamsutta Corporations.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by 2 sons, Edward J. Cloutier of Marblehead and Paul R. Cloutier of Westport; 2 daughters, Nola Ann Assad of West Yarmouth and Ann C. Rosinha of Westport; 3 brothers, Roland Cloutier of Bremerton, Washington, Joseph A. Cloutier of Hawthorne, California and George B. Cloutier of Oxford; 10 grandchildren, Beth, Jeanne, and Julie Cloutier, all of Marblehead, Nicole Rabstejnak, and Virginia and Stephen Mattos, all of Westport, P. Phillip Cloutier of Franklin, and Carolyn, Michelle, and Christine Assad, all of West Yarmouth; and a great-granddaughter, Hanna Rabstejnak of Westport. He was the brother of the late Olivine Provost and Leo Cloutier.
Funeral from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New BedfordSaturday, December 22nd at 9:30AM.Funeral Mass at St. John the Baptist Church, Westport at 11 AM. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Visiting hours Friday December 21, 2001 from 4-7 PM. Burial will be in Beech Grove Cemetery, Westport.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 36 Cameron Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140 or Boy Scouts of America - Narragansett Council, 651 Orchard St., #109, New Bedford, MA 02744.