Obituary for Maurice Joseph Jalbert
Maurice Joseph “Joe” Jalbert, age 93, of Salem, New Hampshire, died Wednesday, April 5,
2023, due to complications from heart disease, at his home at The Bristal Assisted Living Facility
in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York.
Born in Fort Kent, a small town in the Aroostook region of Maine along the USA border with
Canada, on March 14, 1930, he was the eldest son of the late Edward and Grace (Pelletier)
Jalbert. Soon after, Joe was joined by his brother Elmer, sister Anne, and sister Marilyn.
Joe attended Roosevelt Elementary school and graduated from Ft. Kent Community High in
1948. He attended the University of Maine at Orono where he earned a BS Degree in
Mechanical Engineering in 1952. A few years later, in 1955, he received a diploma from
UMaine’s College of Technology and Professor of Chemical Engineering for a five-year course in
Pulp and Paper Management.
The Korean conflict during those years re-activated many wartime activities wherein Joe was
drafted into the army. To his surprise, and humble recounting of the story, he never made it to
the front. On a 70 box-car train full of thousands of GIs heading southbound, the train suddenly
stopped in Baltimore. Joe and three other UMaine BS graduates, one of which was a physicist,
heard their names called. They were taken off the train and driven in the back of a truck by an
MP to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The next morning a major in the secret service
(as Joe found out later) brought Joe to a man wearing civilian clothes and told Joe: “This is your
boss” and said to the civilian: “You got ‘em. Here’s your man.” The fellow then said, “See that
tank over there?”, pointing to a tank in the yard. “I want you to find the center of gravity. We
need it pronto because the tanks over in Korea, when they try to climb a hill, are tipping back
over onto themselves.” (They had modified them with new engines and transmissions but
didn’t realize how the extra weight would affect their ability to maneuver.) “Joe, you were
selected to do this. We’ll give you a few hours to think this over. They already built the trailers
for these and they’re waiting.” The next morning Joe was perplexed. Nobody told him to get
up. He was free. Nevertheless, instinctually he knew he needed to go back to work on this
project. Over the next few weeks, Joe led a team of civilian mathematicians in finding the
solution. This began a two-year stint in which he worked on several projects as APG continued
its dependence on science and technology to help produce better weapons.
On a weekend pass to NYC in 1953, Joe met the love of his life, Margaret Healy of Queens, NY
at a USO dance at the 34th Street & 9th Avenue YWCA. He was immediately welcomed and
became a part of her large Irish family. They married in May of 1954 and eventually settled in
Salem, New Hampshire, halfway between Maine and New York.
Joe went on to earn an Associate’s Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1964 from Merrimack
College in North Andover, Massachusetts while working for Western Electric, a research and
manufacturing facility, then known as the Merrimack Valley Works.
In 1967, Joe and Peggy moved their growing family of five children from Sullivan Avenue to
Cindy Street into a home for which Joe designed the blueprints. As his career in Mechanical
Engineering progressed, Joe worked for corporations like RCA in Burlington, Massachusetts
during the mid-60s and later in the ‘70s for Chesterton in Woburn, Massachusetts. His last and
most dear to his heart position was at the Environmental Protection Agency in Boston during
the 1990s as an asbestos inspector of schools throughout New England. He retired from the
EPA in 1999.
When not working, blessed with a green thumb, Joe took great care and interest in planting all
kinds of fruit and evergreen trees and flowering plants on the property of his home on Cindy
Street, and for several years cultivated a bountiful vegetable garden. Joe didn’t travel as much
as he would have liked, but he did manage to take a grand tour of Europe with Peggy and they
enjoyed another much talked about tour of China. But his favorite place, by far, was “up home”
in Maine.
He is survived by his five children: His eldest daughter, Kathy Jalbert and son-in-law, Brad
Marshall of Kew Gardens, New York; his eldest son, Edward Jalbert and daughter-in-law, Marie
Jalbert of Henderson, Nevada; his son, Michael Jalbert of Manhattan, New York; his son,
Thomas Jalbert and daughter-in-law, Rebecca Jalbert of Harrisonburg, Virginia; and his
youngest daughter, Patricia Kreuther and son-in-law, Gabriel Kreuther of Manhattan, New York;
two sisters, Anne Romano of Manchester, CT, and Marilyn Marin of Southport, Maine; four
grandchildren: Malissa, Melinda, and Michelle of Colorado, and Margaux of New York, several
great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved wife,
Margaret “Peggy” Jalbert who died in 2012 and his brother, Elmer Jalbert
2023, due to complications from heart disease, at his home at The Bristal Assisted Living Facility
in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York.
Born in Fort Kent, a small town in the Aroostook region of Maine along the USA border with
Canada, on March 14, 1930, he was the eldest son of the late Edward and Grace (Pelletier)
Jalbert. Soon after, Joe was joined by his brother Elmer, sister Anne, and sister Marilyn.
Joe attended Roosevelt Elementary school and graduated from Ft. Kent Community High in
1948. He attended the University of Maine at Orono where he earned a BS Degree in
Mechanical Engineering in 1952. A few years later, in 1955, he received a diploma from
UMaine’s College of Technology and Professor of Chemical Engineering for a five-year course in
Pulp and Paper Management.
The Korean conflict during those years re-activated many wartime activities wherein Joe was
drafted into the army. To his surprise, and humble recounting of the story, he never made it to
the front. On a 70 box-car train full of thousands of GIs heading southbound, the train suddenly
stopped in Baltimore. Joe and three other UMaine BS graduates, one of which was a physicist,
heard their names called. They were taken off the train and driven in the back of a truck by an
MP to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The next morning a major in the secret service
(as Joe found out later) brought Joe to a man wearing civilian clothes and told Joe: “This is your
boss” and said to the civilian: “You got ‘em. Here’s your man.” The fellow then said, “See that
tank over there?”, pointing to a tank in the yard. “I want you to find the center of gravity. We
need it pronto because the tanks over in Korea, when they try to climb a hill, are tipping back
over onto themselves.” (They had modified them with new engines and transmissions but
didn’t realize how the extra weight would affect their ability to maneuver.) “Joe, you were
selected to do this. We’ll give you a few hours to think this over. They already built the trailers
for these and they’re waiting.” The next morning Joe was perplexed. Nobody told him to get
up. He was free. Nevertheless, instinctually he knew he needed to go back to work on this
project. Over the next few weeks, Joe led a team of civilian mathematicians in finding the
solution. This began a two-year stint in which he worked on several projects as APG continued
its dependence on science and technology to help produce better weapons.
On a weekend pass to NYC in 1953, Joe met the love of his life, Margaret Healy of Queens, NY
at a USO dance at the 34th Street & 9th Avenue YWCA. He was immediately welcomed and
became a part of her large Irish family. They married in May of 1954 and eventually settled in
Salem, New Hampshire, halfway between Maine and New York.
Joe went on to earn an Associate’s Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1964 from Merrimack
College in North Andover, Massachusetts while working for Western Electric, a research and
manufacturing facility, then known as the Merrimack Valley Works.
In 1967, Joe and Peggy moved their growing family of five children from Sullivan Avenue to
Cindy Street into a home for which Joe designed the blueprints. As his career in Mechanical
Engineering progressed, Joe worked for corporations like RCA in Burlington, Massachusetts
during the mid-60s and later in the ‘70s for Chesterton in Woburn, Massachusetts. His last and
most dear to his heart position was at the Environmental Protection Agency in Boston during
the 1990s as an asbestos inspector of schools throughout New England. He retired from the
EPA in 1999.
When not working, blessed with a green thumb, Joe took great care and interest in planting all
kinds of fruit and evergreen trees and flowering plants on the property of his home on Cindy
Street, and for several years cultivated a bountiful vegetable garden. Joe didn’t travel as much
as he would have liked, but he did manage to take a grand tour of Europe with Peggy and they
enjoyed another much talked about tour of China. But his favorite place, by far, was “up home”
in Maine.
He is survived by his five children: His eldest daughter, Kathy Jalbert and son-in-law, Brad
Marshall of Kew Gardens, New York; his eldest son, Edward Jalbert and daughter-in-law, Marie
Jalbert of Henderson, Nevada; his son, Michael Jalbert of Manhattan, New York; his son,
Thomas Jalbert and daughter-in-law, Rebecca Jalbert of Harrisonburg, Virginia; and his
youngest daughter, Patricia Kreuther and son-in-law, Gabriel Kreuther of Manhattan, New York;
two sisters, Anne Romano of Manchester, CT, and Marilyn Marin of Southport, Maine; four
grandchildren: Malissa, Melinda, and Michelle of Colorado, and Margaux of New York, several
great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved wife,
Margaret “Peggy” Jalbert who died in 2012 and his brother, Elmer Jalbert