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Robert Richer, 91, of Tupper Lake, passed away, Sunday, July 27th at Mercy Living Center where he had resided the past few months. Born July 1, 1923 in Huntington, Quebec, he was the son of Annette Genier and Donat Richer. Bert was the oldest of 7 children. A veteran of WWII, Bert served in the U.S. Army 10th mountain division with the Ski troops in Northern Italy after training at Camp Hale, Colorado. He met his future wife Claire Bruso at Sunmount VA Hospital where he was recouping from the war. Claire had also served during WWII and was the "cute little package" who nursed him back to health. He and Claire were married at St. Bernard's church on September 3, 1950. After returning home from the war, Bert and his cousin Roland, both barbers, owned Tip Top Sports Shop, a hub for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. Bert instilled a love of the outdoors in his family and the wider Tupper Lake Community as he and Roland were instrumental in the development of Big Tupper Ski area. Bert also loved to golf, cook, camp, fish and hunt. He was an early member of the Spring Hill hunting club. After his retirement, he and Claire loved to travel and visited almost every state n the continental U.S. They lived in Florida for many years before moving back North and settling in Plattsburgh, NY close to their family. An avid skier his entire life, skiing was a love that Bert, better known as "Grandpa" passed on to his family, who has carried on the tradition today. In everything he did, whether with his family, his business, or on the slopes, Bert was considered a fair man. He is survived by 2 children; Barbara Papineau of Keene, Peter and his wife Sue of Tupper Lake. Four grandchildren; Angela Merrihew of Tupper Lake, Hilary Papineau of Albany, Jason Richer of Cortland and Megan Papineau of Burlington and one great-grandson Mitchell Merrihew. Also surviving are three sisters; Susan LaVigne and her husband Mark, Janet Chartier and Marcella Gaudet. He was pre-deceased by his wife Claire in 2009, a son Joe in 2010, a brother Raymond, two sisters, Theresa Vanderhoff and Madeleine Nadvornick, two brothers in law; Bob Chartier and Howard Gaudet. Calling hours are scheduled for Monday, July 28th from 5 -7 pm at the Stuart-Fortune-Keough funeral home in Tupper Lake. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Alphonsus Church.

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