Frederic Gautreau (aka Pépère to his grandchildren) was born on December 21, 1891, in Pre d'en Haut, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of Fredinand Gautreau and Henriette (Gaudet) Gautreau. Frederic grew up in Pre d'en Haut, the oldest of nine siblings. As an adult, he moved to Halifax and later to Massachesetts with his wife and children.

As a young boy - and well into adulthood - Frederic was known for his physical ability to lift heavy objects, as well as for his gumption. Frederic’s parents once told their grandchildren a story about Frederic’s mettle as a young boy:

“When Frederic was a boy in Pre d’en Haut, a neighbor boy (twice Frederic’s size) would sometimes eat meals with our family. On one such occasion, the neighbor boy began to bully and tease Frederic’s younger siblings at the table. The neighbor boy continued his teasing despite several warnings from Frederic. Frederic then stood up, picked the boy up over his shoulder, tossed him out the door and told him not to come back. Frederic was very protective of his family. It was evident from a young age that he would not be one to back down, nor would he be easily intimidated.”

In the early 1900’s, New Brunswick school authorities would often arrange room and board for teachers assigned to small communities. It was because of such an arrangement that Marie Rose Cormier (aka Mémère to her grandchildren) lodged with the Gautreau family in Pre d’en Haut. Marie Rose became more than a teacher and tenant to the Gautreaus; she became part of the family after a romance blossomed between her and Frederic, one of the Gautreau’s children. Frederic and Marie Rose courted and were married at Notre-Dame-du-Mont Carmel Church on August 14, 1916, in Sainte-Marie. They had ten children (five girls and five boys): Viola, Liliane, William, Helen, Victorine, Normand, Arthur, Hervey, Noella and Edmond. Sadly, Marie Rose gave birth to an 11^th child in the early 1930’s, who only lived for a few short days. Frederic and Marie Rose had 33 grandchildren.

On December 6, 1917, a devastating explosion occurred in Halifax involving a munitions ship. The explosion leveled one-square mile of the city and killed 2,000 people. After the tragedy, there was an urgent call for carpenters to restore the city of Halifax. In 1918, when Frederic was 27 years old, he and his brother, Cedric, moved to Halifax to work as carpenters and help repair the damage in Halifax. Frederic’s wife, Marie Rose, and their daughter Viola, remained in the Cumberland Basin region of Nova Scotia while he worked and built a home in Halifax for the family. Frederic and Marie Rose corresponded via letters to keep in touch and make their future plans. In one such letter, Frederic shared his latest news and expressed his sentiment for Marie Rose. When Frederic finished building their home in Halifax, Marie Rose and their baby daughter joined him; they had four more children. For several years, Frederic worked as a carpenter and the family remained in Halifax.

In 1923, once the Halifax restoration was completed, Frederic traveled to Boston to seek work. His first job was working in the naval yard in Boston. Frederic and Marie Rose ultimately made the decision to emigrate to Massachusetts. Marie Rose, and their five young children, took a train from Canada to Lynn, Massachusetts, where Frederic had rented a home at 14 Marion Street. During that same time, four of Frederic’s siblings, Celina, Martial, Cedric and Felicien, also relocated to Lynn.

After moving to Lynn, Frederic and Marie Rose joined Saint Jean Baptiste Parish and Frederic became a member of the Holy Name Society. Frederic and Marie Rose had five more children (one girl and 4 boys). All ten of their children attended Saint Jean Baptiste school, where French was taught along with English. Three of their five daughters, Viola, Liliane and Noella, would eventually enter religious life in the Order of the Sisters of Saint Anne. In time, Frederic and Marie Rose became United States citizens, but their link to New Brunswick remained strong.

In 1928, Frederic and Marie Rose moved their family to a new residence in Lynn at 383 Boston Street. In 1929, Frederic and Marie Rose bought their home in Lynn on 78 Wyman Street; that same house remained in the family until the late 1980s.

During the great Depression in the 1930’s, Frederick worked hard to support his family while Marie Rose and the older children held down the home front. Even when work was scarce, resourceful Frederic and Marie Rose managed to keep their home, property and car. The family was also able to supplement their diet from the backyard garden, apple tree and grapevine. Frederic even used some of the grapes to make wine.

Frederic and Marie Rose’s children enjoyed sharing their memories of growing up on Wyman Street with the next generation:

“When dad came home from work, we had special fun being carried around the house by him - two of us children on each arm and one on each foot. We experienced much joy spending time as a family through activities like square dancing and celebrating each other’s birthdays.”

Frederic’s children also remember fondly how he introduced them to the beauties of nature. On many Sundays, he would load the family into the car for day trips to the beach, the woods, the zoo and even to Hood’s farm where the children enjoyed free milk. Everyone was delighted when the road trip included a stop to get some ice cream. During summer heat spells, Frederic would sometimes take the family to sleep on a sandy beach for the night or to an open-air theatre to see a movie. And…the children always looked forward to visiting dad’s work; often, Frederic would take the family to one of his building sites so they could walk through the empty houses under construction.

In 1942, Frederic registered for the WWII Draft. However, he was not called up. At the time of his draft registration, Frederic worked at the General Electric plant on Western Avenue in Lynn.

By the mid 1940’s – after the great depression and WWII – the family returned to the natural rhythm of life and happy times. Through the 1940s and into the 1950’s, the Gautreau children grew and made lives of their own. Frederic and Marie Rose continued to gather their children together on a yearly basis or at least as often as possible.

During his adult life, Frederic worked as a farmer, lumberjack, dock worker and a master carpenter. He continued to be known for his feats of strength. His wife and children shared some of his stories through the years:

“While working in the naval yard in Boston, Frederic’s coworkers made bets with one another whether Frederic could lift and turn the wheel of a train car. Frederic put on a horse harness, got underneath the axle and used his back muscles to turn the wheel 360 degrees. In another instance, when challenged to pull a sheet out from under a ship anchor, Frederic once again succeeded by using his strength and a harness for leverage. Frederic’s sons also remember how their dad, while working with them at Gautreau Brothers Construction, could lift one side of a beam by himself when it took four other men to lift the opposite end of the beam.

Marie Rose (Mémère) also recalled Frederic once picking up the end of a car that rolled onto his head; fortunately, Frederic was able to scoot out from under the vehicle. As that story goes, Frederic did require medical attention after the incident.”

Frederic was the patriarch of his Christian home; he was a good family man, proud of his Acadian heritage, strong, fearless, hardworking, a master carpenter and a trail blazer. In his later years, Frederic enjoyed visits from his grandchildren and continued his passion as a carpenter and craftsman.

On July 29, 1960, at the age of 68, Frederic died unexpectedly. His daughter-in-law, Jean Gautreau, remembers seeing Frederic just minutes before he passed:

“My father-in-law was working and building the house next door to ours on Auburn Street in Saugus, Massachusetts. I brought him over a glass of lemonade during the day and watched out the window at the end of the day as he drove down the street on his way home. Sadly, Frederic died at the wheel of his car that day before crashing off the roadside."

As his life story is told, it goes without saying how much Frederic loved and took care of his family; he was blessed to meet 21 of his 33 grandchildren before leaving this world. Frederic’s legacy will live on in those who knew and loved him, as well as for the generations who never had the chance to meet this remarkable man.