Paul J. Gagnon
February 7, 1949 ~ September 18, 2019
BOSTON- Paul J. Gagnon, 70, passed away in his home on September 18, 2019.
Born in Salem on February 7, 1949, he was the son of the late Henry and Yvette (Ledoux) Gagnon. Paul was raised in and attended grammar school in Salem. He graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in 1967 and Vesper George School of Art in 1969 where he studied commercial art. He had a career in commercial art and had retired from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Paul enjoyed travelling, reading, painting, theater, visiting art museums and spending time with his friends and family.
Paul is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Henry and Mary Lou Gagnon of Danvers, and his nephew and niece, Gregory Gagnon of Brooklyn, NY and Kristen Gagnon of Danvers.
Visitation will be held from 5-8PM on Monday, September 30, 2019 at C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers. All other services are private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to debra of America (Epidermolysis Bullosa fund), 75 Broad St, Suite 300, Brooklyn, NY, 10004 http://www.debra.org/
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I had the pleasure of working with Paul as a server at a restaurant in Brookline four decades ago. It was a tight-knit crew & many of us have remained friends to this day. Paul was a skilled server. More to the point, he was a loyal friend, always eager to socialize, whether it was to try a new restaurant or bar, or take in a play or art exhibit.He had a wicked sense of humor, and an even greater sense of decency. He will be missed.
Lit a candle in memory of Paul J. Gagnon
I worked with Paul for many years at Prentice Hall (and, later, Pearson Education). He was warm, creative, and gracious, and his paintings were beautiful. He is missed.
-Carolyn Artin
A good man
I, too, worked with Paul at Prentice Hall/Pearson Publishing. He was smart, talented, funny, and most importantly, kind. I will never forget him.
I met Paul at Prentice Hall when I first started in publishing. He was a talented designer and his sharp sense of humor kept us all in stitches.
A sympathy card was purchased for the family of Paul J. Gagnon.
I met Paul in 1974. I was a curious 19 year old and he a much wiser 25 year old. We became fast friends and the memories of the adventures we shared over the next few years are still amazing. Our friendship coincided with the Disco era and we danced ourselves silly at 15 Landsdowne, Styxx, and others.
We kept in touch all these years but of course today I wish I had kept closer in touch.
I will miss my mentor and friend but will always carry him in my heart.
Paul never made a ‘spectacle’ of himself. I still smile when thinking about him. Too young to be gone.
I worked with Paul in a restaurant in Brooline Village between 1975 and 1976 (we called him “Billy Paul”). He was a great guy – smart, funny, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes brilliant. But always kind and open. I haven’t seen or talked with him since those days but have always remembered him fondly. Fly on Paul and be at peace.
This is how I remember ‘Billy Paul’.
I met Paul in the Fall of 1969 when we both worked at Almys Department store in Salem for Christmas. We were both college students and hated the jobs. He worked in Mens and I worked in costume jewelry. You were supposed to always look busy so we would straighten the same area near each other for hours so we could chat and laugh during the slow hours. We then dated and eventually were just friends. We took a month long tour of Europe in 1974 – we each had saved $1000 for the trip. We went to Ireland, England, France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland and had a marvelous time. I recently went back to Ireland again for the first time and kept remembering my first trip with Paul and planned to call him to tell him about it.
Paul will be missed ! I made a donation to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Scholarship Fund in his memory.
Pat Feeley Spongberg
Paul was my work buddy for a lot of years, and we shared many laughs (and many snack breaks) together. We also shared chocolate bread pudding on our almost-shared birthdays and many dumb inside jokes the never failed to make us chortle. He was talented, smart, kind, warm, screamingly funny, a jester, and an old-fashioned gentleman all at once. I will miss him. May he rest In peace.