George W. Broughton, 90, of 140 East Bacon Street, Plainville; died on Friday, June 5, 2015, at his daughter’s home surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of the late Eleanor (Riley) Broughton who died on October 30, 2003.

George and Ellie made their home in Attleboro Falls for 30 years before moving to Plainville in 2001.

A man of deep faith, he lived simply and selflessly. He will be remembered by neighbors and family friends for his gentle and generous spirit and his readiness to lend a hand without judgment.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 27, 1924, he was the son of the late Joseph E., Sr., and Ruth A. (Moser) Broughton. Raised on Fort Hill Farm in rural Brookfield, he started grammar school in a one-room schoolhouse. He went on to graduate from Classical High School in Worcester in 1943 and received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1947. While later discerning a call to the priesthood, he also earned a bachelor’s of philosophy from Saint John’s Seminary in Boston, where one of his grandsons will enroll in September, to his great pride.

His engineering career spanned six decades through which he witnessed the tools of his trade go from slide rules to computers. In 1971, a job offer from St. Regis Paper led him to relocate his family to the Attleboro area. He spent the last two decades of his career as head of quality control for its local manufacturing division through various ownership changes, retiring from the Fortifiber Corporation in 1991. While he supervised product quality, he cared deeply about the quality of his working relationships. He landed his first job out of WPI at Fraser Paper in Madawaska, Maine, on the Canadian border, the source of countless tales and what became a career-long specialty in the chemistry of paper. He went on to work as a chemist at the Ludlow and Kupfer Bros. paper companies and presented to peers at national conferences.

As much as his work fascinated him, retirement meant time to devote himself to his grandchildren and to favorite causes including tutoring adults through the Literacy Center in Attleboro. Inspired by his students’ dreams of becoming U.S. citizens, he became a guide not only for learning the English language but also for navigating the path to citizenship. He was honored with a J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award for his contributions and applauded by the center’s director for being “much more than a tutor.” “You have been a trusted advisor and friend,” she wrote, “and you have made the community a better place for all of us.”

Baseball and scouting were also among his lifelong passions. He served as a Little League coach and Boy Scout scoutmaster, leading teams and troops both before and after his own children went through the programs.

A voracious reader, he loved to explore subjects from American history to biographies to Boston sports—and he never tired of re-reading the Cape Cod-based novels of Joe Lincoln, inherited from his father.

A keen historical mind led him to study genealogy in depth, tracing his family’s cultural roots from Plimoth Plantation to Nova Scotia to County Limerick. Yet he also sought to understand cultures beyond his own.
As one example, his respect and gratitude for his Armenian friends spurred him to study the Armenian genocide and contribute source materials to university archives.

Throughout his life, his faith was his touchstone.

He was a communicant of St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Attleboro Falls, where he served on the Parish Council among other roles. As a young adult, he volunteered actively for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and in the hospital visitation ministry of the Legion of Mary. Later in life, with wife Ellie, he took part in a regular prayer group.

Writing this spring to thank a local church for praying for his own health as he battled multiple myeloma, he noted, “I believe that prayer is our most direct and sincere path to an all loving God.”

Every day, he thanked God for his family. Speaking of family, “I have been most blessed,” he reflected recently.

He leaves three daughters: Nora Broughton Jestus of Norton; Ruth Mattson of North Attleboro and Christine Healy of Attleboro; two sons: Joseph Broughton of Sharon and Mark Broughton of Sammamish, WA; and five sons-in-law and daughters-in-law: Glen Jestus, Beth Wiley, Ronald Mattson, Richard Healy, and Jennifer (Ehlers) Broughton.

He also leaves twelve grandchildren, who endlessly delighted him: Emily Jestus; Gunnar, Ingrid and Michelle Mattson; Jennifer, Ryan and Meghan Healy and Jillian, Riley, Hunter, Timothy and John George Broughton, named in his grandfather’s honor.
One of eight children himself, he leaves a sister: Marjorie (Broughton) Gregson of Sanford, NC; a brother: David and sister-in-law Jacqueline Broughton of Pensacola, FL and more than 30 nieces and nephews.

He was the brother of the late Joseph, Jr., Robert, William and Paul Broughton and Doris (Broughton) White.

Funeral service will be from the “Memorial Chapel” of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 133 North Main Street – Route 152, Attleboro.

Burial will be private in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Village of Attleboro Falls.

Source: Dyer Lake Funeral Home Attleboro Falls MA.