SOUTH PARIS – John R. Gaugler Jr., 83, of South Paris died Sunday, March 20, at the Maine Veterans Home.

He was born in Steelton, Pa., on July 3, 1921, the son of John R. and Rose Bellows Gaugler Sr. He graduated from high school in Lafayette, La. He attended college at Southeastern University in Hammond, La., before leaving in 1941 to join the U.S. Army. He served from 1941 to 1946 in the Second Signal Corps.

He married Gertrude Calor Beal in Miami Beach, Fla., on May 2, 1944. He worked for 25 years at Ekco Tibbets in Locke Mills.

He had served as chaplain for the Foster-Carroll American Legion in South Paris, and was an active member of the Floyd Harlow VFW in South Paris and the Jonesport Masonic Lodge. He was an original member of the Advisory Committee for the Western Maine Veterans Home in South Paris.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Gertrude, of South Paris; three daughters, Linda Record and her husband, Richard, of South Paris, Anita Hebert of South Paris and Betty Deegan and her husband, Henry, of Cape Elizabeth; a son, Kurtz Gaugler and his wife, Julita, of Titusville, Fla.; 14 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his parents; a stepmother; a great-granddaughter; and a great-grandson.