REST IN PEACE
May 29, 2018
Kittery, Maine - Henry Guertin-Ouellete, of Kittery Maine, died Tuesday, May 29, 2018. The son of Paul and Ida (Caron) Ouellette.
Henry was born in 1924 in Salem, MA. Henry had a passion for inquiry and knowledge. He attended Assumption College in Worcester and St John’s Seminary in Brighton, receiving his BA in 1945. Henry entered the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1949. He received a scholarship from the French government and attended the Catholic University in Paris, where he completed his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1951.
Upon returning to the states, Henry began what turned out to be a long career in academia. Beginning at Matignon High School in Cambridge, he progressed to become the Chair of the Psychology Department of Emmanuel College in Boston, a position he held for 18 years. Henry’s role as an educator was one of the main cornerstones of his life. The other was his professional involvement in the field of Psychology. True to form, Henry rose to a prominent position in the field, spearheading the movement for the licensure of Psychologists in the state of MA. He became the first chairman of the Licensing Board, a position he held 1972-1974, and proudly held license #1 in the state of Massachusetts. Through his involvement in various boards and commissions, he received numerous awards and honors. In addition to his academic and professional activities, Henry also maintained a private practice, providing counselling services for individuals and couples.
Henry left the priesthood in 1977, at the age of 53. Given the enormity of that decision, it was very gratifying to Henry that his next professional position, upon leaving Emmanuel College, was working with men and women of the religious order. He became the Clinical Director of Consultation Service for Clergy & Religious, in Manchester, N.H., a position he held 1978-1992.
In 1982 Henry married Lauretta R. Guertin of Nashua, N.H. Upon retiring in 1994, they took three adventurous road trips across the country, venturing as far as Alaska.
For a man such as Henry, there was no such thing as retirement. At 75 he began a 12 year position as a volunteer in service to the York Police Department. The Maine Police Association awarded Henry the James J. Durant Civil Recognition Award, given to a civilian for their outstanding to contribution to a local police department.
Throughout his life, Henry endeavored to not only make a contribution to his community, but to make a difference in people’s lives. He was a man of passionate convictions, who had a deep sense of what was right, and the courage to speak truth to power. Henry valued and sought out meaningful conversations and lively debate whether It be in his classrooms, in line at the car dealership, with the residents of Kittery Estates, where he and Laurie have lived for the past seven years, or with a hospice aide at his bedside.
In addition to his parents, Henry is predeceased by his brother Roger. Henry is survived by his wife, Laurie Guertin-Ouellette, of Kittery, Maine; sister-in-law Eleanor Ouellette of Salem; niece, Donna Keegan (and husband Stephen, daughter, Megan) of Gloucester; niece, Patricia Paradis (husband Francis, sons Ryan and Evan) of Beverly; and niece, Carol Sachs (sons Thomas and David) of Newburyport.
He is also survived by many who will always think of him as a loving, parental figure.
Friends are invited to visit with Henry’s family on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the JS Pelkey Funeral Home, 125 Old Post Road, Kittery, Maine, 03904. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 11 a.m., at St Christophers Church, 4 Barrell Lane, York, Maine. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com . Care for the Guertin-Ouellette family has been entrusted to the JS Pelkey Funeral Home.