Paul Lionel Lapointe

With courage, determination and dignity, Paul Lionel Lapointe, 72, fought a three-year battle with A.L.S., finally succumbing to the disease on April 23, 2022 at home with his family by his side. Paul was the husband of Linda (Ferreira) Lapointe, his high school sweetheart. They were married for 52 years.
Paul was born January 26, 1950 in Fall River, MA to Lionel and Lorraine (Lizotte) Lapointe.
He attended Fall River schools, graduating from Durfee High School in 1968. He went on to study Electrical Engineering at S.M.U., receiving a B.S. in Engineering, and working at N.U.W.C. for 30+ years. In the 1970s, Paul was a member of the Coast Guard reserves, which afforded him the opportunity to work on the other love of his life: the ocean.
Paul was devoted to his family and friends, always involved in coaching his sons' sports, rolling around with his grandsons, mentoring nephews and nieces, and solving problems for others.
After several years as the Director of the Tiverton, RI Recreation Commission and an
exhaustive effort on his part to develop a softball field, the town named the ballfield after him, now known as "Lapointe Field" in the Town Farm area of Tiverton.
An avid outdoorsman, Paul enjoyed exercising, hiking, camping, running, biking, skiing,
kayaking and playing softball. Possessed of tremendous speed, he garnered the apt moniker "Flash". He was an accomplished sailor, having bought his first sailboat at the age of 8 with money earned from a paper route. In the early 1980s, his love of sailing and the ocean matched perfectly with a burgeoning new sport, windsurfing. This became Paul's favorite hobby/passion/obsession for the rest of his life. He found a crew of like-minded enthusiasts and,closely monitoring the weather daily, this group of friends stood ready to shirk work and other responsibilities in favor of gusting winds and tasty waves.
Upon retirement, Paul and Linda traveled extensively, culminating with their purchase of a residence in The Villages, FL. There, in addition to forming many new, wonderful friendships, Paul continued his pursuit of maintaining impeccable physical conditioning by participating in as many outdoor activities as possible.
As a good friend wrote of Paul, "the lifelong impressions made by his kindness and generosity were a gift to all who knew him."
Paul is survived by his wife Linda, sons Christopher and Jon-Paul, daughters-in-law Debra and Mozhgan, grandsons Ethan , Zachary, Julian and Sebastian, and sisters Janice Backman, Celeste St. Marie, Phyllis Morrissette, and Lorie Lapointe.
A celebration of Paul's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the A.L.S. Association 1300 Wilson Blvd Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22209