World War II veteran, active in Council on Aging

Robert Charles L’Heureux, 88, of Withington Lane, died Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2010, after battling a brain tumor for more than 17 months.

Born in Beverly, the son of the late Charles and Eva L’Heureux, Bob attended the Beverly schools and graduated from Beverly High School in 1940. He attended the Co-operative Trade School and was briefly employed by Hytron Radio Tube in Salem before enlisting in the Army in 1942. After flight cadet training, Bob became a fighter pilot during World War II as part of the 360th Fighter Group. Stationed in England from 1943 to 1944, Bob rose to the rank of captain and flew 137 missions, including bomber escort on D-Day.

In late 1944, Bob returned to Wright Patterson Airfield in Ohio, and served tours that included flight-testing experimental aircraft in Ohio, Colorado, and later in Florida and Louisiana, as part of the Gypsy Task Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following his honorable discharge in 1946, Bob’s passion for flying led him to join the Air National Guard, where he helped found the Air National Guard unit in Boston at Logan Airport. A 1950 graduate of Tufts with a BS degree in physics, Bob later worked for several defense contractors, including Photo Switch in Cambridge, ITT in Fort Wayne, Ind., Santa Barbara Research in California, and the optical thin film departments of Honeywell, Raytheon, and Spectrum Systems in Massachusetts.

In 1986, at the age of 65, Bob retired to spend time with family and friends, travel with his wife Claire, and pursue his hobbies. He was actively involved with Harvard’s 60-Plus organization and the Council on Aging.

Bob leaves behind his wife of 51 years, Claire; son, Stephen; daughter-in-law, Julia, and two granddaughters, Kara and Alexandra, all of Acton; and two sisters, Geraldine Humphrey of Wenham and Deloris Hatch of Beverly.

Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Acton Funeral Home, 470 Massachusetts Ave. (Route 111) in Acton, with visiting hours from 10 to 11 a.m., followed by funeral home services at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Bellevue Cemetery. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, interested parties send a donation to 60-Plus, c/o Council on Aging, PO Box 615, Harvard, MA. 01451.