Obituary of Raymond Joseph Dupere

Raymond Joseph Dupere Jr., 59, passed away unexpectedly Feb. 28, 2014, at his home. "Joe" was born in Panama in 1954 to Raymond and Rejeanne Dupere. He graduated from Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville, N.C., in 1972, and East Carolina University in 1976. In 1975 he married Catherine Smith, and from that union came Isaac, Sarah, and Molly. In 1986 he began a 20-year career at UMaine. Joe married the love of his life, Kyle, in 2002. In 2007, they established a small off-grid homestead in Unity, and began to learn to live more sustainably. Joe always joked that he still didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up. He was variously a computer programmer, sustainability crusader, volunteer EMT, sailor, rower, boat-builder, reader, carpenter, swordsmith, circus-peanut-eater, drawer of complicated diagrams, master packer, hiker, rambler, flower-picker, fencer/duelist, beekeeper, singer, dancer, contra dance caller, earner of blood blisters, cliff clamberer, cat-napper, snorer, wood cutter, wearer of Birkies and socks--and a dedicated Red Riot fan. Joe taught by example. He was a gentleman and a gentle man, ever willing to climb into a muddy ditch to scoop up a spring swamp iris. Though the Dupere family was made, unmade, and remade over the years, he was the center of us all, drawing friends and children's friends into the rich circle we all called home. Joe is survived by his wife, Kyle McCaskill; children, Isaac, Sarah, Ernest, Molly, and Ian; grandson, Conall; siblings, Ray, Mary, and Bill; and his former wife, Catherine. Joe was predeceased by his parents, as well as his sister, Carol. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to MOFGA, F&H Day Fund, P.O. Box 170, Unity, ME 04988. - See more at: http://obituaries.bangordailynews.com/obituaries/bdnmaine/obituary.aspx?n=raymond-joseph-dupere&pid=170044750&fhid=25485#sthash.UyG5U4DV.dpuf