WESTFIELD
– Chester LaPlante, 78, (1941-2020) of Westfield, died on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke after a short illness. Born in Westfield on April 4, 1941, son of the late Chester and Virginia (Holt) LaPlante, he attended schools in Westfield and graduated from Westfield Trade High School. An Army veteran who was stationed in Germany, he served from 1963 to 1965.
Chester worked as a machinist throughout his life. His most recent place of employment was Roselli’s Machine & Manufacturing Co., in Westfield, from which he retired in 2016. A jack-of-all-trades, he enjoyed tackling any and all home improvement projects. He was especially skilled at carpentry. In his earlier years, he restored cars. He was an avid fisherman throughout his life. His wife, Arlene (Fowler) LaPlante, whom he married in 1968, died in 2010.
He is survived by his children, Michelle LaPlante and her husband Eric Morrison, of Pitman, NJ; Lori LaPlante and her husband Steven Bechard, of Westfield; and Randy LaPlante and his wife Nicole, of Amsterdam, NY; his grandchildren, Evan and Blake LaPlante; a sister, Elizabeth Yefko; and brothers, Alan and Douglas LaPlante. He was predeceased by his brother William LaPlante in 2017. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. www.firtionadams.com
