Maurice H. Bergeron

Maurice H. Bergeron, 89, of Sanford, died on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Goodall Hospital in Sanford.Maurice was born in Sanford on November 13, 1918 to Evariste and Aurore Ouellette Bergeron. This was the time of the great influenza period and there was a lot of concern for the health of Maurice and his mother. He developed bronchitis as a very young boy and this prevented him from attending school for a time. He attended St. Ignatius School where he was educated through the eighth grade. After he left school Mr. Bergeron went to work at a local shoe factory and at the Goodall Mills where he was employed until 1942. After leaving the mill, he joined his father at Bergeron's Shoe Repair Shop which at that time was located on Cottage Street next to his family's homestead. His father retired in 1957 and Maurice decided to move the shoe shop to a new location on Main Street, where the Salvation Army is located now. It was at this time that the shoe shop began to offer new shoes as well as repairs. To finance the new location, Mr. Bergeron attempted to borrow $1000.00 from a local bank but was declined because there were already four other shoe stores and three apparel stores that sold shoes in town. The bank didn't think that there was room for another shoe store to be successful. Mr. Bergeron was determined to make this work so he borrowed the money from MAC Finance and made the move. Ten years later, two of his competitors had gone out of business and Bergeron's Shoes had outgrown their building and moved to their current location on Main Street. Maurice was extremely well loved by his nieces, nephews and many of the young people around town. They were often stopping by the shop to talk and joke with him which was not always appreciated by his father. His father thought that this would be detrimental to the business but the opposite turned out to be true. As these young people grew up, they would come to Maurice to buy their sneakers and shoes. This helped develop the work shoes business that is still vibrant today at the shoe store.Mr. Bergeron was very active in the community. He belonged to the St. Ignatius High School Boosters Club and drove the basketball players to their out of town games. He also used to take many of the local kids ice skating and roller skating. He was referred to by his brother Richard as being a one-man Y.M.C.A. He loved going to parades and made many trips to Canada, especially to Quebec and St. Anne de Beaupre. He belonged to the St. Jean Baptiste Society and the 1918 club. He would often give people rides to these meetings. After his retirement, he enjoyed working in his garden and around the yard of his home. It was easy to tell what season it was by observing which decoration that Maurice had on display. People would make it a point to stop by and admire his gardens. There was never a twig out of place in the hedges in front of his house. Mr. Bergeron will be remembered as a kind and loving brother, uncle and friend and will be greatly missed. Maurice was predeceased by his parents, a brother, Robert Bergeron and a sister, Estelle Gagne.Surviving are six sisters, Lucille Roy of Old Orchard Beach, Therese Bergeron of Sanford, Gertrude Berard of Sanford, Sr. Claire Bergeron of Lawrence, MA, Sr. Berthe Bergeron of Waterville, and Rachel Belanger and her husband Norman of Sanford; a brother, Richard Bergeron and his wife Marie of Sanford; a sister-in-law, Mrs. Robert Bergeron of Sanford and many nieces and nephews.Funeral service for Mr. Bergeron will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of Lafrance-Lambert & Black Funeral Home in Sanford.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to St. Thomas School, 69 North Avenue, Sanford, ME 04073.To leave a message of condolence for the family, please click on the condolences tab to the left.