Courtesy photo Family and friends of 43-year city Public Works employee Andre Pelletier wave to drivers and take photos of a parade of Public Works vehicles that paid tribute to Pelletier, who passed last week of the COVID-19 virus. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – Andre Pelletier was a proud man who loved Mountain Dew almost as much as he loved his country and the city for which he worked for more than four decades.

And it was with pride that he served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era, where he earned a Bronze Star medal for heroic and meritorious service.

Pelletier, a 43-year employee of the city Public Works Department who, his co-workers said, aspired to become a foreman before he retired, was stricken in December with what he initially thought was the flu.

But he would soon be diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, and less than a month after entering St. Joseph Hospital, Pelletier succumbed to the illness.

He was 68. Among his survivors is his wife of 42 years, Carol Pelletier, who also contracted COVID-19 but has since recovered.

Courtesy photo The late Andre Pelletier, a 43-year employee of the city Public Works Department who died of the COVID-19 virus last week, is shown in a recent photo. His fellow employees held a parade of public works vehicles in his honor. (Courtesy photo)

So popular among his co-workers was Pelletier that they came up with the idea to stage a parade of Pelletier’s favorite vehicles – those of the Public Works department.

Coordinating it with the Rochette Funeral Home and Cremation on Kinsley Street, Pelletier’s fellow employees lined up their trucks and other heavy equipment, some of it on trailers pulled by the trucks, and set out from the Public Works headquarters.

Flags, banners and hand-made signs paying tribute to Pelletier adorned each of the vehicles as they drove slowly past the funeral home, where family and friends waved to the drivers and captured photos and videos.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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Courtesy photo A banner bearing a "rest in peace" message for the late Public Works employee Andre Pelletier is affixed to a front-end loader, one of many Public Works vehicles that participated in a parade that paid tribute to the 43-year employee. (Courtesy photo)

How to help

The unexpected passing last week of Andre R. Pelletier, a Nashua native and 46-year Department of Public Works employee who lost a valiant battle against the COVID-19 virus, has left his family facing financial challenges as they recover from their loss. Pelletier’s daughter, Toni Bobenrieth, has launched a GoFundMe account to help Andre’s widow, Cindy Pelletier, who has disabilities and mobility issues, cover various expenses she will encounter over the coming months. To donate to the account, go to gofund.me/be9f7cc1.