Normand Roger Pelletier was born in Salem, Mass., on May 25, 1958.

Born the son of the late Anita (Ouellette) Pelletier and Real Pelletier, he was the oldest amongst five brothers and sisters — Elaine, Kenny, Janice, and Daniel. The family grew up together in the Castle Hill Neighborhood in Salem and were active in the St. Anne’s Church community.

Normand attended Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute (Essex Aggie) for high school in Danvers, Mass. He graduated in 1976 as an ornamental horticulture major and had his own landscaping and small engine repair business for years.

Normand met his first wife Vickie (Carlson) Pelletier, formerly of Haverhill, Mass., during their high school years at Essex Aggie, and they were married on November 12, 1978. Normand and Vickie grew to become a family of five by 1983 after becoming first time parents to Danielle, Nicole and Stephanie. Although having three children so close together, Normand embraced the family life of being actively involved with his girls’ sports lives. If he wasn’t coaching, he was running the girls from sport to sport, practices to games, sometimes seven days a week.

The family took yearly summer vacations to Conway Lake where they rented a chalet from a family friend. The family would go fishing off the dock, walk up the road to go swimming at the public beach, take day trips to Storyland or Whale’s Tale Water Park, hike or take the auto ride up Mount Washington. This created years of memories that his family still holds dearly, to this current day.

Normand was an avid ice skater, and hockey player. He enjoyed his time playing in a men’s hockey league, but what he enjoyed the most was taking his three girls ice skating. He loved to scoop the girls in his arms, one at a time, holding them low to the ice with their skates down and zip them around and around the rink. The family spent many memorable Friday nights together at the rink.

Normand was also a big time marathon runner. He and his best friend, Larry would scour the practice course a day before their training runs and hide bottles of water all over the course. Normand also shared a love for running with his daughter, Nicole. When she was 10 years old, they took on local 5K courses together where they bonded through training for these racing events. They spent hours running together that felt like only seconds to them. It wasn’t until Normand broke his leg playing soccer that would end his running career.

Once healed from his broken leg and knowing it would not be the same, he picked up a love for refereeing soccer games. He refereed a variety of games and tournaments and took great pride in being part of the referee crew that officiated the Massachusetts state championships. He loved sharing stories of angry coaches to red carding players to yelling parents on the sidelines. The adversity never bothered him, as he enjoyed what he was doing and found it to be part of the game.

Shortly after Normand and Vickie divorced, Normand met his recent wife Cathy (Rudolph) Sampson of Sudbury, Mass. They lived in Massachusetts for a short time until they built a house and moved to Bridgton. Together, Normand and Cathy shared a love for cooking and gardening. They were always finding new recipes to try together and cook together. They enjoyed taking time off from work together and shared a variety of weekends away and vacations themselves.

Normand adopted an additional family upon marrying Cathy. He became close with Cathy’s parents William and Barbara Rudolph of Bridgton, her son, Drew and daughter, Nicole. And in later years, their spouses — Jessica (Drew) and Tim (Nicole). Then came the grandchildren — Takoda and Emma (Drew and Jessica) and Olivia and Colton (Nicole and Tim).

If you didn’t find Normand occupied around outside the house, you could find him spending time with his grandkids who he absolutely adored.

Normand took pride in their home’s landscaping and outdoor spaces. If he wasn’t riding around on his John Deere, he would be fighting the pesky groundhog that was eating all the plants in his garden.

Normand was always a hard worker and took great satisfaction in the work that he did. Although work wasn’t his life, it was always an important part of what he did to support his family.

When he wasn’t working or around family, Normand was “out with the guys” on the golf course. Jerry, Jose, and Mike were longtime referee buddies that transformed into great friends and golf comrades. Normand always enjoyed their annual golf trips together.

Normand passed away suddenly on the morning of May 20, 2024. Although the culmination of his life ended unexpectedly, he is leaving behind years of memories, along with family and friends that know they were truly loved by him.

Normand is survived by his wife Cathy Sampson (Rudolph) and her children Drew Sampson and his wife Jessica of Lebanon, Maine, Nicole Cadman and her husband Tim of Framingham, Mass. His ex-wife Vickie (Carlson) Pelletier and their three daughters Danielle (Legault) and her husband and their two daughters of Peabody, Mass., Nicole (Rapkowicz) and her husband, Jeremy of Lyndonville, Vt., and Stephanie (Stapley) and her husband Kendall of Meredith, N.H. Normand’s siblings Elaine (Bonaiuto) and her husband Joseph of Beverly, Mass., Janice Pelletier of Salem, Mass., Kenny Pelletier and his wife Kim (Sanborn) of Denmark, and Daniel Pelletier and his wife Lisa (Beausoleil) of Salem, Mass. Nieces Grace Bonaiuto of Beverly, Mass., Ashley Marsh (Pelletier) of Beverly, Mass., Tricia Pelletier of Salem, Mass., and nephews Nathan Bonaiuto of Amesbury, Mass., and Jacob Pelletier of Salem, Mass.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date for close family and friends.