MARLBOROUGH — Before paying his bill at a restaurant, Armand Courchaine would pull out a pen, flip over the receipt and write a message to his server.
“Great meal,” “Great server,” or “We’ll be back” were the typical comments. Armand often insisted the server show the message to their boss. He’d then pay his bill and leave a gold coin in addition to the tip on the table.
It was his calling card of sorts.
“Armand was just always caring about the other person,” said his wife, Sheila Courchaine. “The guy just loved putting joy on everybody’s face.”
The smiles and happiness that Armand, a Navy veteran, brought to family members, friends and even strangers turned to frowns and tears last week. Armand, 76, died April 14 after a more than two-week battle with the coroanvirus.
According to his obituary, Courchaine was born in Fall River, son of the late Leo J. Courchaine and Emily Boudreau.
Sheila is unsure how her husband of 12 years contracted the disease.
The couple began getting chills and body aches the week of March 23. Armand’s condition began to worsen throughout the week. He began vomiting and spiked a fever of 101.5.
“His fever wouldn’t go down,” said Sheila, a nurse, who later tested positive for COVID-19. “He went from bad to worse.”
Sheila drove Armand, who had Type 2 diabetes, to UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital, a 5-minute drive, the evening of March 26. They were met by emergency room personnel outside when they arrived. Sheila was unable to go inside with Armand, but they said goodbye, anticipating he would be assessed and return home a few hours later. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“I never saw him again,” said Sheila.
She talked to Armand on the phone the following day. His condition had worsened and he told her he couldn’t breathe. Doctors eventually put Armand on a ventilator, but he was able to speak with Sheila shortly before.
“He said, ‘I love, love, love you,’ and I said, ‘I love you,’” said Sheila.
Sheila returned to Marlborough Hospital March 28 to be tested for the virus. She was feeling much better, but wanted her then-potential positive test to be documented. She characterized the testing process as like being in a science-fiction movie. Sheila has since recovered.
The next several days were ‘absolute torture,’ said Sheila. Armand was sedated as his condition continued to deteriorate. Doctors told Sheila that Armand had a heart attack and his kidneys had failed and a tube was inserted for dialysis.
“It was absolute torture,” she said. “He didn’t have a chance. It’s a very vicious virus.”
Sheila characterized her husband as an unassuming, kind and gentle man who was comfortable in every situation and always connected with people. He often described friends and those he just met as ‘a brother from another mother.’
“I’m filled to the brim with the love and joy from this man,” she said.
Armand was a lifelong fly fisherman and organized fly-tying demonstrations across the region to introduce locals to the hobby. He was a member of the New England Fly Tyers, Rhody Fly Tyers, a life member of the United Fly Tyers and the founder of Crossroads Anglers. He participated in Project Healing Waters, a national program with chapters across the country that brings veterans together for an evening of fly fishing and conversation. He could often be found casting his line into the pond behind the Wayside Inn.
“He was a crackerjack fly fisherman,” said Sheila, adding that Armand got his children and grandchildren interested in the sport.
Armand was an avid writer and photographer, but one of his favorite things to do was giving back to the community. He worked as an electrician for 50 years and volunteered at Hudson’s Fresh Start Furniture Bank where he was an expert in lamp and vacuum repair. He was also in the maintenance group and was a greeter at St. Anselms Church in Sudbury.
The Courchaines assisted Laura Gregory – who is legally blind – in raising $9,000 for her to purchase a pair of eSight glasses, a technology that grants sight to those whose vision is so impaired that it cannot be corrected with ordinary lenses.
Sheila longingly recalled memories of attending bluegrass and folk concerts, dances and family trips with Armand and said he will be greatly missed.
Besides his wife, he is survived by six children with his first wife Theresa: Suzanne Courchaine and her partner Rob Hill; Michelle Courchaine; Adam Courchaine and his wife Dara; Matthew Courchaine and his wife Maria; Andrew Courchaine and his wife Abbey; Thomas Courchaine and his wife Ivy; and 7 grandchildren: Alexander, Andrew, Emily, Julia, Nadia, Olivia, and Arnold.
“You’ve got to cherish the moments,” she said. “… He was just a love. I know he had a full life.”
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.