Roland W. Michaud

Ormond Beach - Roland W. Michaud, a pioneering radar engineer during the Cold War and a devoted husband and father of seven, died Nov. 6 at his second home in Ormond Beach, Fla. He was 89 years old. Roland made Massachusetts his home base and raised his children with his wife Sallie Ann Michaud (née Smallwood) in Woburn and Lynnfield. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict and designed anti-missile systems for the U.S. military as an electrical engineer with MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Raytheon Company, The MITRE Corp. and SenCom Corp. A couple of years after Sallie's death, Roland met Beverly A. Blackwell (née Porter), a grade-school teacher with the North Middlesex Regional School District in Ashby, Mass. They were married in 2001 in Lunenburg, Mass., where they resided for many years before becoming "snow birds" and splitting their time between Florida and their home in Pepperell, Mass. He is survived by his wife Beverly, of Ormond Beach, Fla.; brother Roger and Audrey Michaud of Danvers, Mass.; sister Jacqueline and George Normand of Danvers, Mass.; daughter Anne Michaud-Harman and Daniel Harman of Huntington, N.Y.; son William Michaud and Nancy (Leach) Michaud of New Hartford, Conn.; daughter Mary Michaud and Mark Edwards of Fleetwood, N.C.; son Glenn Michaud of Danvers, Mass.; daughter Gail Parente of Melrose, Mass.; son Paul and Loretta (Diaz) Michaud of Houston, Texas; daughter Janet Michaud and Michael Montgomery of Washington, D.C.; stepson Mykol Blackwell of Redway, Calif.; stepdaughter Sharon (Foehl) and Robbie Harlow of Ormond Beach, Fla.; step-son Stephen Blackwell of Palm Springs, Calif.; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Roland was predeceased by his sister Lorraine Novello and her husband Russell, of Peabody, Mass.; and by his brother Edgar C. Michaud and his wife Florence V. (née Mafley) of Beverly, Mass. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11AM on Saturday, July 17, 2021 in Saint Mary of the Annunciation Church, 24 Conant St, Danvers. Visitation will be held from 4PM-6PM on Friday, July 16, 2021 at C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers, Mass. Roland's ashes will be buried in Lynnfield alongside his first wife.