Joseph John Paul Arsenault Sr., age 89, of Dresden, died Feb. 17, 2026 at Maine Medical Center in Portland, surrounded by his loving family.
Joe, known as “Pete” to his relatives, was born in Fitchburg, Mass. on Nov. 24, 1936. He was the seventh of the eight children of Blair and Emilie Arsenault. Joe’s parents moved to a farm in the village of Moosup in Plainfield, Conn. in 1946, where Joe grew up and began work as an auto mechanic and framing carpenter even before graduating from Plainfield High School in 1955.
In 1958, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Marriot, his high-school sweetheart. Two years later, they bought a poultry farm in Canterbury, Conn. He entered an apprenticeship at Pratt & Whitney (P&W) in the early 1960s and became a machinist in its experimental division, where he helped manufacture a number of the booster rockets used by the U.S. Space Agency for its moonshot program. Joe worked hard at both the farm and his employment at P&W. Four years later, they began a loving family that eventually became a household of six.
In 1968, “Pete and Betty” purchased a cattle and poultry farm in Dresden where they remained for the rest of each of their lives. During the first few years, Joe continued dual work on the farm and commuting to P&W. In the mid 1970s, Joe served as the town of Dresden postal carrier while maintaining his farm with his wife and children.
With the rise of the industrial agribusiness in the 1970s, which made small-scale farming unsustainable, Joe’s agricultural and mechanical knowhow, along with his knack for creative problem solving, led him to pursue a number of small-business ventures throughout the ‘80s, ‘90s, and beyond, including car and autobody repair, logging, seasonal pursuits such as wreath-making, gardening, and haying. He converted some of his roadside farmland into a locally popular golf driving range.
In 1999, his wife Betty became terminally ill with multiple myeloma. Until her death in 2001, Joe tirelessly provided in-home care for his wife of 43 years.
After a year of grieving, Joe declared that he was taking up dancing. At his very first venture out to learn line and round dancing, he met Carol Stewart, who became the second true love of his life. Carol gave dancing lessons and cued line, round, square, and contra dancing. Joe became her protégé, her dancing partner and, in 2012, they became partners in marriage and have been loving sweethearts ever since.
Together, they danced all over the state, with Carol cuing dances and Joe as her equipment manager who also enjoyed the festivities on the floor. Carol and Joe would often joke that he got to dance with all the ladies, but he always went home with her. At home, they spent countless hours together before their fireplace watching old westerns, making puzzles, watching songbirds at their birdfeeder, and reading adventure and mystery novels, including the entire collection of Lillian Jackson Braun’s “The Cat Who…” mystery novel series.
Besides Joe’s agricultural, mechanical, and terpsichorean talents, he was an accomplished musician, singing and playing both electric and steel guitars as well as the piano. From his youth onward, he, with his younger sister Patty and older brother Eddie, played and performed country music in public venues and in their living rooms alike. These Arsenaults had a true gift and passion for music-making. In his late years, Joe spent many hours at his keyboard serenading Carol with classic country and dance tunes.
Joe is predeceased by his first wife, Betty; his sister, Genora; and brothers, Blair, Francis, Leo, and Eddie. He is survived by his second wife, Carol Arsenault; his sisters, Doris Gervais and Patty Benjamin; his four children, John Arsenault Jr. and life partner, Calvin Chen, James Arsenault and wife, Tammy, Dedra Chick and husband, Michael, and Alecia Day and fiancée, Scott Griffin; his nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A public memorial service will be held Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 6-8 p.m. at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta with a private, graveside spring gathering.
Arrangements are in the care of Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 1 Church St., Augusta, ME 04330. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home website: khrfuneralhomes.com.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Cancer Society.
