Bruce Edward Parent

Bruce Edward Parent, formerly of Ashburnham, MA, passed away at Merriman House, North Conway, on April 9, 2024. He was born December 12,1930 in Lincoln, NH. and was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Irene Anna DiMeco, his parents, Edward Parent and Nora McCarthy, and his sister, Carol A. Parent. He left four sons and their families: Kevin B. Parent and his wife Brenda, Scot E. Parent and his wife Karen, Mark J. Ross-Parent and his wife Susan, and Brian M. Parent, five grandchildren: Michael, Thomas, Alex, Jackson and Marco, and four great grandkids: Chloe, Brodie, Kinley, and Luke. He also outlived the Old Man of The Mountain which thrilled him to no end. Bruce always considered himself a lumberjack from Lincoln, NH, with deep roots in the Pemigewasset wilderness. As a young man he rode with his father, Eddie Parent, on steam locomotive Engine Number 5 for the EB & L railroad pulling hundreds of thousands of board feet of saw logs and pulpwood out for the Franconia Paper Mill in Lincoln. He was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) building parts of the Kancamagus Highway between Lincoln and Conway, NH. He graduated from Keene State Teachers’ College in 1952 where he met his wife Irene, only to be separated for two years when he served in the US Army 28th Infantry division during the Korean conflict and was based in Germany from 1952 to 1954. Upon his return, he started a career teaching high school English and literature that lasted 35 years. His favorite quote from his favorite poet, Walt Whitman, was “Be curious, not judge mental.” He lived by those words. He had a life-long love of New England sports. He loved hockey, baseball, and soccer, and turned his passion for the latter two into parallel careers as soccer referee and baseball umpire. While he always chuckled that he never played in a soccer game, but he knew the rules. He loved the game and refereed Division One college soccer throughout New England for two decades. The pinnacle of his baseball umpire career was the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, in 1969, making calls from behind home plate. Bruce was an active member in his community and a member of the St. Denis Parish for over 50 years. He was an avid reader, especially novels and histories of World War II. He loved trains and built many models which he loved to share with his grandchildren. Never idle in retirement, Bruce followed in son Scot’s footsteps and attended Andover Tractor trailer School and drove an egg delivery truck every morning into Boston (with DeLorme maps - not GPS) for many years. In their last years, Bruce and Irene moved to Jackson, NH, and enjoyed many long afternoons on the front porch and evenings next to the woodstove. A graveside service to celebrate Bruce and Irene will take place at the New Cemetery in Ashburnham, MA, on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 1:30pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you donate to your favorite local charity in memory of Bruce.