Charles "Vic" Victor Gouger

Charles V. Gouger, Jr (Vic), 87, Formerly of Hodgdon Rd, Northfield, passed peacefully on Saturday, April 3, 2021, following a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Vic was born in Auburn, Maine on September 12, 1933, to the late Charles V. Gouger Sr and Albina (Marcous) Gouger. He was a proud graduate of the 1951 class of the Edward Little High School and enjoyed attending alumni gatherings there throughout his life .

Vic married his soulmate, Wilma R. Gallegos, on February 10, 1961, in Greene ME, just shy of a year after their chance encounter on Saint Patrick's Day in Manhattan Beach, CA. They shared a love affair of 58 years until Wilma's passing in 2020. In 1964 they welcomed the birth of their only daughter, Rochelle, in New York City. After some interim moves around the country the family settled in NH where Vic and Wilma remained for the rest of their lives, the last 33 years, in their mountain view home in Northfield.

Vic began his career as an engineer. In 1955 he earned a certificate of Electronics Design Engineering from the Devry Technical Institute of Chicago, IL. Over the next 15 years, Vic traveled the world, working for such companies as the Raytheon Corporation, Laboratory for Electronics and General Electric Information systems. As an engineer, he worked on special projects where he was instrumental in the design, testing and maintenance of radar and sonar systems, aircraft weapon systems and the supervising of the programming of on-line stock market information systems.

As newlyweds, Vic's position as a senior project engineer landed them in Okinawa for two years. While there, the couple delighted in travel and new experiences throughout the Far East.

Vic spent the second part of his career working in computer programming. In 1967 he earned a certificate in Computer programming from the Devry Technical Institute of Pheonix, AZ. In 1967, while working for Adams Associates, Vic was part of a team that designed and installed an automated international teletype message center for Mobil Oil Headquarters in London. From 1968-1970, Vic was employed by the short-lived Northeast Airlines where he designed, installed and supervised the operation of a large airline reservation system and communication network. In 1970 Vic took a position with the State of NH as a computer application specialist where he spent the next 27 years of his career. During his time with the state, Vic helped design and implement communication systems for various state agencies. He also assisted in introducing word processing to the state government and became a personal computer instructor, giving formal classroom training for state employees from several agencies. In 1974 Vic was elected and served as a delegate to the 16th New Hampshire Constitutional Convention to serve his fellow citizens.
After retiring, Vic launched his own business as a personal computer consultant.

In retirement, Vic and Wilma traveled the country visiting family and friends as well as embarking on several international travel adventures. They loved dancing, playing dominoes with their neighbors and spending time at their favorite beaches on the coast of Maine. They loved spending time with their three grandsons. Vic was a devoted and hands on grandfather who treasured teaching his "boys" how to ski and fish. He loved watching them play their sports and was their biggest fan.

A skier since he was as young boy, Vic spent his winter weekends on the slopes and dedicated many years to ski instructing at Loon Mountain. He enjoyed the good times with his fellow ski instructors and relished the many friendships made on the slopes. Vic also loved fishing and watching baseball and was a lifelong Red Sox fan. He was interested in gourmet cooking and had quite a green thumb. Every summer he took great pride in creating and cultivating his bountiful vegetable garden and his fruit bearing trees.

This devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother will be dearly missed by his family and friends who will forever cherish his humor, kindness and sense of adventure.

Vic is survived by his loving daughter and son-in-law Rochelle and Kent Fitzpatrick, and his three grandsons, Kaelan, Dillon and Macklin Fitzpatrick of Dover, MA his devoted sister, Nancy Beaucage, of Hudson, NH, a niece, Rachel Beaucage, of Lowell, MA and several cousins.

A private burial will take place this summer in Greene, ME.

In lieu of flowers please consider a tribute gift to The Parkinson's Foundation
https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/SPageNavigator/2017_donate_form

The Cremation Society of New Hampshire has been entrusted with arrangements. To view an online tribute, leave a message of condolence or for more information please visit www.csnh.com.