NASHUA – If longtime city Nashua Police Commissioner Bob Valade had a vacation planned and commission business came up that required his attention, then those vacation plans would just have to wait, his family learned over and over through the years.

"Bob cherished being on the commission. He really took the position to heart," fellow commissioner Jim Tollner said Sunday, two days after Valade, 78, died at a Nashua hospital following a hard-fought battle with cancer. Valade, who had served as chairman for the past several months, was "an absolute gentleman" who was "very proud of the Nashua Police Department," Tollner said. He added that the department membership "had a lot of appreciation and respect for him, as well."

A native of Manchester, Robert E. Valade lived in Nashua’s Crown Hill section for many years. He was the widower of Theresa (Gauvin) Valade, who passed in April 2014 at the couple’s longtime Nashua home.

Valade, who was nearing the middle of his second 3-year term on the police commission, represented a dependable, steady influence through the commission’s recent tumult that led to the resignation of member Thomas Pappas, followed by the recent replacement of 30-year commissioner and longtime chairman Thomas Maffee.

Gov. Maggie Hassan will likely appoint Valade’s successor in the near future, after which the Executive Council will vote to approve the nominee as part of a century-old process that is unique to the Nashua Police Commission.

Valade took office in September 2011. His current term runs through September 2017. The governor’s appointee, if confirmed, will join Tollner, currently clerk of the commission who was appointed in June, and fellow newcomer Nicholas Dahl, who was appointed in October.

Toller recalled how moved a roomful of police officers, including many from Nashua, were in October when Valade, despite having spent the entire day receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments, kept his promise to take part in a program called Red Mass, an annual event that honors one police officer and one attorney of the Catholic faith.

Valade felt it important to be there, Tollner said, because Nashua Police Lt. Carlos Comacho was named the recipient of the St. Michael Award.

"A lot of (Nashua police and affiliated personnel) went up there … Bob said he was going, but we never expected him to make it," Tollner said. "But just as dinner was starting, Bob walks into the room. You don’t expect to see police officers show a lot of emotion, but you could tell how moved they were that he was there."

Calling hours are scheduled for 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Davis Funeral Home, 1 Lock St. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. John XXIII Parish at Infant Jesus Church, follwed by graveside services at St. Patrick Cemetery in Hudson.

A full obituary appears on Page 14.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-6443, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.