Henderson, N.C. —
He was born in Manchester, N.H. on Sept. 4, 1923, the son of Ulderic Henri Dion and Bernadette (Darveau) Dion. He was married to Jeanne Clemens from May 9, 1953 to 1980.
As a young child, he resided in a number of states until moving to the family farm in East Plainfield, N.H. He received his education there in a one-room school house.
Bob worked with his father as a carpenter for many years. He was later employed by Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital for 19 years, retiring in 1986.
He was active in hiking, bicycling, bowling, ice skating, skiing, hunting and fishing. He was especially interested in hiking on the Appalachian Trail, covering many miles in both N.H. and Vt. His dream was to hike the entire trail. One day he started his trek and got as far as Mass., where he broke a strap on his backpack, making it impossible to proceed. To his dismay, he went in to a small town in Mass. and took a bus home.
Bob is survived by two children, a daughter, Lucie V Shealy of Henderson and a son, Donald R Dion of Aiken, S.C. He is survived by five sisters, Ruth Bushee and Helen Tucker of Lebanon, Lorraine Thompson of N. Andover, Mass., Stella Gray of Surprise, Ariz., and Elizabeth Macy of Sun City West, Ariz.; also two brothers, Normand A. Dion of Troy, N.H. and John D Dion of Olympia, Wash.; many nieces and nephews and cousins in Canada.
He is predeceased by his parents; by his former wife, Jeanne Clemens; two sisters, Rita M. Guay of Lebanon and Claudette Williams of Sun City West; and three brothers who passed away as infants: Paul of Canada, Marcel of Manchester, N.H., and Camille of East Plainfield, N.H.
Memorial services will be held in Lebanon at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bob’s Memory to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 799 Washington Street, PO Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 or to the Upper Valley Humane Society, 300 Old Route 10, Enfield, NH 03748.
An on line obituary is available to leave Bob’s family a message of condolence by visiting www.rickerfuneralhome.com.