PORTLAND — Rev. Monsignor Robert G. Lavoie died on Friday, May 12, at St. Joseph’s Manor in Portland.

He was born in Lewiston, on Jan. 20, 1928, the son of Louis Lavoie and Eva Ouellette. He attended Saints Peter and Paul Grammar School in Lewiston and was part of the first graduation class of St. Dominic High School which, at the time, was located in Lewiston. He then attended Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., and the Seminary of Philosophy and Grand Seminary in Montreal, Canada.

He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by Bishop Daniel J. Feeney at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. He spent his entire priestly life in the various churches of the State of Maine. As an assistant priest, he served two years in the church of St. Denis in Fort Fairfield and 12 years at St. John Church in Winslow. In 1967, he was appointed chaplain of Catholic students at the University of Maine in Orono. During his five years there, he supervised the construction of the new Catholic Center (Newman Center) for students and a residence for the chaplain.

He was also responsible for organizing meetings and training for the chaplains serving at the many colleges of the state. During these years, he attended workshops in various parts of the country and several weeklong sessions at Harvard University. In 1972, he was named Director of Pastoral Planning for the Diocese of Portland. From an office at the Chancery in Portland, he and his staff traveled to all parts of the state to help parishes develop detailed methods of planning for parishes to develop priorities and take steps to attain them. In 1974, he was named the first pastor of the new parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Windham. Because of the rapid growth of the members of the parish, he saw, that in addition to his priestly duties, he would need to enlarge the church, attach a parish hall for religion classes and build a rectory to house the priest. In 1986, he was transferred to serve as pastor of St. Hyacinth Parish, in Westbrook and in 1997, he went to serve as pastor of St. Gregory Parish, in Gray. On the state level, he was appointed to the board of Diocesan Consultors and served on the Council of Priests for many years. He retired in June 2007 and moved to Mount St. Joseph Home in Waterville with other retired priests. During his retirement, he helped out with weekend Masses in many churches throughout the state of Maine, and celebrated daily Mass and provided the Sacraments for the residents of the adjoining nursing home.

Monsignor Lavoie is survived by a nephew, Mark Lavoie and his wife, Debra, and family; a nephew, David Lavoie and his wife, Fran, and family; and a niece, Susan Lavoie Wooten and her husband, Brent Wooten, and family. He is also survived by many cousins and his many friends.

To express condolences and to participate in Monsignor Lavoie’s online tribute, please visit www.dolbyfuneralchapels.com.

Rev. Monsignor Robert G. Lavoie