Obituary for Alan Holden Friot
Alan Holden Friot
October 16, 1932 – July 13, 2020
Born in Malden on October 16, 1932, Alan (also known as Grandpa Alan to his family, friends and fans) Friot died from an aggressive form of colon cancer. He did not suffer long. He passed away at home in Wells with family by his side.
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Alan grew up there surrounded by his mother, sister, grandparents, cousins and extended siblings from his father’s previous and subsequent marriages. Alan loved being with all his cousins and siblings.
After graduation from both Malden High, in 1950, and a year at Chauncey Hall, in 1951, he went on to study electrical engineering at MIT, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1955. Alan went straight to work for the Central Intelligence Agency, 1955 – 1959, in a group called Technical Services.
Alan married his high school sweetheart, Helen L. Reid, in 1956. They moved to Washington, DC, to both work at the CIA. It was a sweet time in their life with friends and their very secret work. The birth of their son Paul in 1958 brought them back to the Boston area, settling in Winchester, MA, where they went on to have 2 more children, Christopher and Suzanne. The family eventually moved to Harvard and then Groton, Massachusetts.
Alan’s career took many turns, including building simulator cockpits for Boeing 747s. A layoff in the early 70s led him to get involved with water treatment. He subsequently bought a water treatment business in 1971, which he worked in with his son Paul for over 45 years, retiring in December 2019.
Alan was a philosopher, poet and a great thinker about the planets. He wrote over 2000 poems and self-published a book, “Grandpa Alan’s Teddy Bear Poems”. This achievement touched more lives than we can count. Those who would stop and spend a moment or two with Alan would be exposed to his discovery about the tip of the earth and many more aspects to our solar system. It was an uphill battle for anyone in the academic world to see his perspective, but he continued to pursue an in-depth dialogue up until his death.
This was a big life lived by a man who loved performing in local musicals with his son Paul, playing bridge with his wife Helen or cribbage with any one of his children and grandchildren. He gave everyone he met something to think about!
Alan is predeceased by his wife, Helen in 2018, and survived by his children: Paul and his wife Pattie of Port St Lucie (FL), Christopher and his wife Janet of Groton (MA), and Suzanne L.F. Gagnon of Portland (ME). Alan was very proud of his grandchildren: Christopher A. Friot II and his wife Irie of East Boston, Jillian A. Friot of Memphis, TN, and Cooper J. Gagnon of Kennebunkport. Alan was also a loving Uncle to many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Southern Maine Health Care of Biddeford, ME. https://smhc.thankyou4caring.org/
Services will be private
October 16, 1932 – July 13, 2020
Born in Malden on October 16, 1932, Alan (also known as Grandpa Alan to his family, friends and fans) Friot died from an aggressive form of colon cancer. He did not suffer long. He passed away at home in Wells with family by his side.
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Alan grew up there surrounded by his mother, sister, grandparents, cousins and extended siblings from his father’s previous and subsequent marriages. Alan loved being with all his cousins and siblings.
After graduation from both Malden High, in 1950, and a year at Chauncey Hall, in 1951, he went on to study electrical engineering at MIT, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1955. Alan went straight to work for the Central Intelligence Agency, 1955 – 1959, in a group called Technical Services.
Alan married his high school sweetheart, Helen L. Reid, in 1956. They moved to Washington, DC, to both work at the CIA. It was a sweet time in their life with friends and their very secret work. The birth of their son Paul in 1958 brought them back to the Boston area, settling in Winchester, MA, where they went on to have 2 more children, Christopher and Suzanne. The family eventually moved to Harvard and then Groton, Massachusetts.
Alan’s career took many turns, including building simulator cockpits for Boeing 747s. A layoff in the early 70s led him to get involved with water treatment. He subsequently bought a water treatment business in 1971, which he worked in with his son Paul for over 45 years, retiring in December 2019.
Alan was a philosopher, poet and a great thinker about the planets. He wrote over 2000 poems and self-published a book, “Grandpa Alan’s Teddy Bear Poems”. This achievement touched more lives than we can count. Those who would stop and spend a moment or two with Alan would be exposed to his discovery about the tip of the earth and many more aspects to our solar system. It was an uphill battle for anyone in the academic world to see his perspective, but he continued to pursue an in-depth dialogue up until his death.
This was a big life lived by a man who loved performing in local musicals with his son Paul, playing bridge with his wife Helen or cribbage with any one of his children and grandchildren. He gave everyone he met something to think about!
Alan is predeceased by his wife, Helen in 2018, and survived by his children: Paul and his wife Pattie of Port St Lucie (FL), Christopher and his wife Janet of Groton (MA), and Suzanne L.F. Gagnon of Portland (ME). Alan was very proud of his grandchildren: Christopher A. Friot II and his wife Irie of East Boston, Jillian A. Friot of Memphis, TN, and Cooper J. Gagnon of Kennebunkport. Alan was also a loving Uncle to many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Southern Maine Health Care of Biddeford, ME. https://smhc.thankyou4caring.org/
Services will be private