TOPSHAM — Roger J. Litalien, 90, died Saturday at The Marshwood Center in Lewiston. Born in Jay on June 25, 1922, he was the fifth child born to George Litalien, Sr. and Marie Rose Vaillancourt.

Litalien left home at a young age and moved to Bath, where he worked at various jobs.

On Sept. 5, 1942, he married his beloved wife, Cecile Cote, at St. John the Baptist Church in Brunswick. They made their first home in Topsham Heights.

In 1943, Litalien entered the U.S. Navy Reserve and was stationed in Oahu, Hawaii. There, he worked as an apprentice seaman, putting to use his trade skills in plumbing. He was honorably discharged on Sept. 25, 1945. After working at Bath Iron Works for 40 years, he retired in 1984 as a lead man in the pipe shop.

In 1943, Litalien and his wife welcomed their first child, a son, Ronald, and in 1947 they welcomed a daughter, Nancy. They were a very close-knit family, and over the years created many fun and lasting memories.

Litalien enjoyed boating on Sebago Lake, as well as camping and fishing trips to Moosehead Lake with his family and friends.

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Despite a limited education, he was a man of many talents. Litalien was self-taught as a plumber, electrician and a builder of wooden boats, houses and stone walls. With the help of his wife, he built a home on Route 196 in Topsham.

Litalien was a 24-year member of American Legion Post 202 in Topsham.

He is survived by a son, Ronald Litalien and his wife Tina, of Bowdoinham; a daughter, Nancy Leavitt and her husband Walter, of Wiscasset; two grandchildren, Christopher Leavitt and his wife Ruth, of Derry, N.H., and Donna Andrews and her husband Scott, of Bradford, Mass.; as well as four great-grandchildren, Anna and Benjamin Leavitt, and Samantha and Caitlin Andrews. Also surviving are three sisters, Bernadette Arsenault, Yvonne Hurd and Theresa LaPlante; a brother, George Jr. and his wife Anita; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was predeceased by his wife, Cecile; four brothers, Albert, Andre, Donald and Roland; and three sisters, Irma Bilodeau, Joanne D’Arc Fournier and Mary Rose Albertine Smith.

A Mass of Christian burial took place Thursday at St. John the Baptist Church, All Saints Parish, in Brunswick. Burial will follow in Bay View Cemetery in Bowdoinham.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Litalien’s memory to St. John’s Elementary School, 39 Pleasant St., Brunswick.

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