Flags at Half-Staff in Honor of Deceased Westford Veteran

In accordance with Town of Westford flag policy, the municipal flag will be flown at half-staff on Thursday, November 1st, 2012 to honor John "Pete" LaFond Jr., 76, of Westford, passed away on October 27, 2012 at his home in Westford.
Pete was born in Melrose on October 21, 1936, the son of the late John P. and Mary (Eaton) and was raised and educated in Melrose.

He enlisted in the Air Force in December of 1953 and went on Active duty in January of 1954 of his Senior Year in the Early Entry Program. After Basic and Tech School, he was sent to the Fuchu Air Base, Japan for 2 years where he was a Teletype Operator and the Squadron Courier in the 1956th Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron. After separation from the Air Force, he joined Boston's Local 12 Plumber's Union and served a 5-year apprenticeship. He attended various plumbing schools and passed exams for his Journeyman's License in 1960 and his Master's in 1963.

He moved to Westford in 1964 and started his own Plumbing and Heating Company in 1968, retiring in 1998. In the 1970's he was a coach in Westford Little League and Youth Hockey.

Pete also served as Westford Plumbing Inspector from 1978 to 1981 and from 1984 to 1985 he was an instructor at Greater Lowell Vocational High School where he taught the first year plumbing course.

His hobbies were working on his home and cutting, splitting and burning wood to heat his home. He enjoyed attending yearly local and national reunions of the Sampson Air Force Base Veterans' Association.

He was a member of numerous memberships including the Sampson AFBVA and Cofounder of the MA Squadron, the National Korean War War Veteran's Assoc., The Greater Lowell Korean War Veteran's Assoc., The H.E. Fletcher Club, the Stony Brook Fish and Game Club, the Northeastern and New England Plumbing and Gas Inspectors Assoc., American Legion Post 313, The National AACS Assoc., the NRA and the AARP.

Friends are invited to a graveside service on Thursday, November 1st at 11 a.m. at St. Catherine's Cemetery in Westford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nashoba Nursing Service & Hospice, 2 Shaker Road, Suite D-225 Shirley, MA 01464.