Chester N. Lapete

Chester N. Lapete, 90, of Shelburne, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 11, 2021 at the St. Vincent de Paul Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Berlin. He was born on July 7, 1930 in Whitefield, NH the son of the late Flavys and Margaret (Sharidan) Lapete and resided in the North Country all of his life. Chester served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He had been employed for many years by Gorham Savings Bank, retiring as Bank President.



Chester was always a pillar of his community. He was the president of his class and captain of his baseball team. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. He became President of Gorham Savings Bank. He was a founding member of the Gorham Development Corp. whose sole purpose was to build the Gorham Medical Center. He was a two-time president of the Gorham Rotary Club and also served on the board of the United Way. He was a Gorham School Board member where he pushed to hire a coach and won a championship for Gorham High School. He also did many smaller but no less significant things such as reading for the blind and was a little league coach. I am proud to call him my father. -Paul



Members of his family include his children: Stephen Lapete and wife Beth of Tamworth, NH, Michael Lapete of Gorham, Jocelyn Lapete and partner Bill of Greenfield, NH, Paul Lapete of Berlin and Mark Lapete of Gorham; five grandchildren: Vanessa, Derek, Michael, Eric and Arligh; four great-grandchildren with two more on the way; brother Eugene Lapete and wife Barbara of Whitefield, NH; several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his wife Doris (Clay) Lapete, and siblings Stephen Smith, James “Wheeler” Smith, Flavys “Bud” Lapete, and a sister Sr. Mary Lorraine “Polly”.



SERVICES: A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 10 AM at the Bryant Funeral Home, 1 Promenade Street, Gorham, NH, with interment to follow in Holy Family Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to a walk-through visitation on Thursday, June 17th from 5 PM to 7 PM. Those who wish may make donations in Chester’s memory to the Granite United Way – Northern Region, 961 Main Street, Berlin, NH 03570 or online at www.graniteuw.org. Memories and condolences may be shared online at www.bryantfuneralhome.net.