Ronald C. Durocher

Ronald "Ron" Durocher, of North Berwick, Maine, died of complications from cancer, on June 28, 2021, at the age of 52. Ron was a fighter and fiercely battled to defeat the Stage 4 cancer he was diagnosed with in January of 2020. After a year and a half struggle, Ron passed away suddenly, yet peacefully, at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House. Ron was born on June 3, 1969 in Sanford, Maine to Ronn and Catherine (Fougere) Shank. Following the divorce and remarriage of his mother to Carl Durocher, Ron was adopted by Carl, who raised him as his own son. Ron attended schools in Sanford and graduated from Sanford High School in 1987. Ron then attended Central Maine Technical College, eventually earning his A.A.S. in Electromechanical Technology. Ron worked as an electrical mechanical technician for Vishay-Sprague in Sanford, ME, Laminated Films and Packaging, in Portsmouth, NH, and most recently at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick, ME. Ron loved and excelled at the problem solving aspects of his job, and he enjoyed the company of the people with whom he worked. Ron met his wife, Christine (Stough) in the summer of 1993 while they were both working at Vishay-Sprague. They shared interests in art, movies, religion, travel, politics and their love of the outdoors, and were wed in December of 1994. They moved to North Berwick in 1997 and raised three children, Carl, Danielle and Matthew. Ron was a hardworking, yet easy going guy. People who knew him talked of his big smile and contagious laughter. People also admired him for his courage in battling Crohn's disease for much of his life, only to then develop cancer toward the end of it. In spite of his illness, Ron continued to work hard day after day. As hard as Ron worked, he played even harder. Ron's passion in life was mountain biking and cycling. Ron biked over 1500 miles in completing 5 of the annual Great Ohio Bike Adventures (GOBA). He and Christine biked a rail-trail with friends from Madawaska, ME to Riviere-du-Loup in Canada and did the Tour de Cure in Bar Harbor. Ron also took 7 year old son, Carl, to New York City to participate in the 5 Boro Bike Tour. He even organized a mountain biking bachelor party for his best friend and biker buddy, Mark. So no one was surprised when Ron was sent to Germany for training at the DMG plant in Pfronten, that the first thing he did was, he rented a bike. Ron was an adventurous soul and especially loved a challenge. He and Christine hiked across the precipitous Knife's Edge trail on Mount Katahdin and backpacked through Mahoosuc Notch, dubbed the "hardest one mile of the Appalachian Trail." He hiked to the top of Masada, an ancient Jewish fortress, while working in Israel. In Germany, he joined co-workers in crossing suspension bridges, riding on zip-lines and mountain trikes, but only he dared to run off an 8000 foot-high cliff to try paragliding in the Alps. Ron also loved spending time with friends. One of the highlights of every year was a reunion with college buddies, Kim, Gerald and Mike and their families, which always involved lots of food, cribbage playing and hours of telling stories from the past year. Ron and Christine were moved by the kindness of friends and family expressed to them over this past year. They especially would like to thank Ron's coworkers at Pratt & Whitney who generously gave of their time and resources to assist the family. They would also like to thank the staff at the Maine Medical Center SCU and the Gosnell House who cared for Ron in the last two weeks of his life. Ron is survived by his wife of 26 years, Christine, and children Carl, Danielle and Matthew, parents Carl and Catherine Durocher of Alfred, ME and father Ronn Shank and his wife Shirley of Wilmington, NC, brother Craig and his wife Maria and their son Alex of Dayton, ME, sister Jennifer Payette and husband Ken of Farmington, NH, and half-brother Ronnel and his wife Lori and sons Ean and Eli of Lenoir, NC. Friends and relatives are invited to a time of visitation on Tuesday July 6, 2021 from 4-7 P.M. at the Carll Heald & Black Funeral Home in Springvale, Maine with a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10 A.M. on Wednesday July 7, 2021 at Holy Family Church, Sanford, Maine, with burial immediately following at St. Ignatius Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Black Funeral Homes, Sanford-Springvale. To leave a message of condolence, please click on Ron's tribute page. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Ronald Durocher Memorial Scholarship Fund to be awarded to a vocational student at the Sanford Regional Technical Center who is majoring in the electronics field.