John E. Champagne

07/12/2007

John E. Champagne, 79, a resident of Otis since 1985, died Thursday at Heritage Hall Nursing Home in Agawam. Born in Chicopee on March 24, 1928, son of John E. and Lillian Ketterle Champagne, he was raised in the Aldenville section and lived in Chicopee for many years before moving to Ludlow. He served an apprenticeship as a machinist and welder at Savage Arms Co. in Chicopee. A Navy veteran of World War II, he served aboard the USS Missouri, attaining the rank of seaman first class. Following the service, Mr. Champagne worked as a machinist and welder at Ornamental Iron Shop in Springfield before becoming a foreman at Colonial Iron Shop in Enfield, Conn. He owned and operated Champagne Iron Works in Chicopee for several years and last worked at Riverview Machine Shop in Holyoke before retiring in 2004. He was a member of First Lutheran Church in Holyoke and of Aldenville American Legion Post 337 in Chicopee. He and his wife, the former Pearl Crosby Blanchard, were married Dec. 31, 1984, at First Lutheran Church of Holyoke. Besides his wife, he leaves a son, John E. Champagne of Chicopee; two daughters, Susan Jay of Sharon and Linda Champagne of Brownville, Maine; three stepdaughters, Susan E. Newell of Springfield, Dr. Jean L. Blanchard of Eugene, Ore., and Elaine A. McKay of Sag Harbor, N.Y.; a brother, Rene Champagne of Louisville, Ky.; two sisters, Eleanor Johnson of Cazenovia, N.Y., and Lillian Moyer of Syracuse, N.Y.; nine grandchildren; and five step-grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for John E. Champagne, who died Thursday, July 12, 2007, will be Tuesday, July 17, at 10 a.m. at ST. PIERRE-PHANEUF ALDENVILLE CHAPELS, 13 Dale St., junction of Grattan Street in Chicopee. Burial with Military Honors will follow in Greenlawn Cemetery, Callendar Avenue, East Longmeadow. His family will receive friends at the funeral home in the Rose Chapel on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. The parking lot is in the rear of the funeral home off Lafayette Street. For those who prefer to make a memorial donation, they may be made to the Holyoke Soldiers Home, 110 Cherry St., Holyoke, MA 01040. He also leaves a son-in-law, Michael Jay; three stepsons-in-law, Thomas Newell, Glen Stilling and Warren Padula; a sister-in-law, Rita; and many dear nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by a brother, Paul Champagne.

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