John Arsenault Jr., a longtime bus driver for the Cumberland-North Yarmouth school department, died Monday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 81.
Mr. Arsenault joined the school department in 1963. His bus route was based in North Yarmouth. He drove two generations of students to schools in Cumberland and North Yarmouth over 30 years. He also drove students to the former Portland Regional Vocational Technical Center, as well as on field trips and to athletic events.
“He drove that bus with a gentle but firm hand, and the kids just adored him,” said his daughter, Crystal Hall of Pownal. “We have gotten dozens of messages from people who used to ride his bus. The outpouring of support has been amazing.”
Mr. Arsenault was a popular bus driver in his day, known for handing out candy on Halloween and his wife’s homemade popcorn balls for special occasions. His daughter said students gave him many gifts in return. For Christmas, he would come home with a box of gifts, she said.
“He really enjoyed the children. He loved kids,” Hall said.
Mr. Arsenault retired in 1993 after a blood vessel ruptured in one of his eyes. The damage was too great and he wasn’t able to pass the bus driving exam.
“He was heartbroken … completely heartbroken,” his daughter said. “The good thing was, he would run into the kids at the grocery store. They would still come trick-or-treating at his house.”
Mr. Arsenault grew up in Yarmouth and graduated from North Yarmouth Academy in 1951. He enlisted in the Army and served with the 101st Airborne Division.
He was the husband of Carolyn Arsenault for 54 years. The couple moved in 1961 to North Yarmouth, where they raised three children.
Hall reminisced about their early years Wednesday, sharing stories of camping in northern Maine, hosting family barbecues and taking Sunday drives to visit friends. She said some of their most memorable times were spent camping.
“We did a lot of simple things that mattered,” she said. “We had a huge canvas tent that weighed a ton. We had sleeping bags for everyone, food and clothes for two weeks, a small boat and a Volkswagen Beetle. My mother was a master at packing. How does anyone do that? That’s how we did things. Those trips were really memorable for us.”
Mr. Arsenault enjoyed hunting and fishing with his sons and lifelong friends. He and his wife shared a passion for gardening. The couple maintained a large garden, growing multiple rows of tomatoes and cucumbers. At one time in the 1970s, he made 100 gallons of dill pickles for a local clambake company. Hall said a batch of those pickles made their way to a clambake at the White House.
“My parents were so proud of that,” Hall said. “There were gallon jars everywhere, … the smell of pickle brine and piles and piles of sliced cucumbers everywhere. It was really something.”
Mr. Arsenault was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about seven or eight years ago. His daughter spoke briefly about the toll it took on him and their family.
“It’s been so long since we were really able to see his true smile and laugh,” she said. “Once his disease took hold, the person we all knew was slowly slipping away. I miss how happy he was when everyone was together.”
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