Robert “Bob” Malboeuf, a longtime emergency medical technician and police officer in the area and former Mason police chief, died in late April at the age of 73.
Malboeuf – often known as “Chief Bob” in the town – had a long interest in emergency services and spent decades serving as a paramedic with the Souhegan Valley Ambulance Service and an officer part-time at the regional level.
Malboeuf was born in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, and raised in Fitchburg. He had lived in Mason since 1990.
The funeral took place on May 4 in Townsend, followed by interment at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Mason, on the same road where he lived for years with his wife of 30 years, Lisa Malboeuf. His daughter, Lori Archambault of New Ipswich, said he often joked that he didn’t want to leave the house, even after he died.
Although he is no longer an active police officer, many officers were present at the funeral to pay their respects, said Heather Schoff of Greenville, a friend of the Malboeuf family.
“He was a very good guy and a very civic guy,” Schoff said. “He loved his communities, and that was very evident by the number of people who came out to pay their respects. He had a huge impact in the lives of many people. »
Those who worked with Malboeuf said he brought the same friendly attitude he had to his personal work life, whether working as a first responder with the ambulance or the police.
“Bob was out of the ambulance just as I was joining, if I remember correctly,” former SVAS manager Darel Oja said. “He was always a person who really wanted to help others. He was a police officer for many years after leaving the ambulance, but he always remained the same: friendly, helpful and always smiling.
New Ipswich Fire Chief Meredith Lund, who worked with Malboeuf on the Souhegan Valley Ambulance, as well as through mutual aid when he was a police officer, said he stood out for his dedication.
“He just had real compassion for people in the community,” Lund said. “He was very in tune with the needs of the community.”
Lund said Malboeuf did not end the relationships he forged while on the force and serving in the ambulance. Even after retirement, whenever they saw each other, he would do his best to strike up a conversation – sometimes even stopping if he saw her walking her dog while he was driving.
“You knew he was thinking of you,” Lund said. “He went out of his way to make sure he asked about you or your family. He had a really sweet spirit and he was just a special person. He will be greatly missed.
Malboeuf made the decision to go to the police academy and become a full-time officer later in his 40s, according to his family members.
“He loved it,” his wife Lisa said. “He worked part-time as an officer for many years before, and it was something he always wanted to do. He took great pride in his work.”
Lisa and Bob actually met through his work on the force when he was a part-time officer and Lisa was a dispatcher. He worked part-time as an officer in Greenville and full-time as an officer in New Ipswich, and from 1989 to 2000 served as Chief of Police in Mason. After his retirement as chief, he continued to work for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
“He had a saying, ‘People become cops because you want to help people or because you want power,'” Lisa said. “It sounds cliché, but for him it helped people. He was a people magnet. He never forgot a single person he met.
Malboeuf was very involved with his children and six grandchildren, and was always present at his granddaughter Olivia’s sports games and horse shows, despite having a horse allergy, and was a regular at the local fishing tournament with his little ones. -son.
He enjoyed many hobbies, including cycling, marksmanship and fishing, and was a huge ice cream fan – so much so that his son Mark Malboeuf jokingly apologized to the ice cream industry. ice cream during his father’s eulogy, for surely without his father’s patronage the industry would go under.
He was also, said Archambault, Mason’s animal control officer as part of his police duties, but his soft heart for animals made him “the worst animal control officer Mason had ever seen”. , as he often couldn’t bring himself to bring stray animals. animals at the pound.
Their home was often home to pets waiting to be claimed and at least two dogs – a black lab mix named Charlie and a spaniel named Freckles – and two cats became permanent members of the family.
“He had a thing for animals,” Archambault said.
He also had his community at heart, including in his work on strength.
“He was fair and he believed in second chances,” Archambault said.
He would also do all he could for the people he served. In one instance, Lisa recalls, after a car accident he drove a man to Manchester to be with his wife in hospital.
“It was far from a one-time thing,” she said. “He cared about people. People thought our home phone number was the police number. It was a 24/7/365 job. The phone rang and he was still there.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial contributions be made to the American Liver Foundation at liverfoundation.org/for-patients/donate-now.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertransccript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.