BRISTOL - Jean-Paul Gingras, 87, of Bristol, widower of Jacqueline (Bessette) Gingras, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, at Bristol Hospital. Jean-Paul was born in Katevale, Quebec, Canada, April 3, 1919, and was a son of the late Joseph F. and Nadia (Belanger) Gingras. He attended Boston University before entering the U.S. Army, where he served in the Pacific during WWII. He came to Bristol in 1956 and worked for the U.S. government for more than 35 years before retiring in 1976. After retirement, he served as French consul in Connecticut and he also served as chairman of the Advisory Commission on Franco-American Cultural Affairs for the state of Connecticut for more than 17 years. He was a member of Palos Council No. 35 Knights of Columbus and a 4th degree member of M.B. Roddan Assembly of the Knights of Columbus. He was a past national commander of Franco American War Veterans Post No. 22 and he served on the Veterans Council for the city of Bristol, where he was instrumental in the placement of the war memorials on Memorial Boulevard. Jean-Paul was a member of St. Ann Church, Bristol, where he served as a lector for many years and was a member of the League of the Sacred Heart Society. Jean-Paul is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Dana and Lynne Gingras of Mooresville, N.C.; a daughter, Pauline Edwards of Bristol; six grandchildren, Nicole Dooley and her husband, Adam, of West Orange, N.J., Dana B. Gingras and his wife, Kelly, of Cornwall Bridge, David L. Gingras and family of Hawaii, Michelle L. Gingras of Mooresville, N.C., Eric V. Edwards of Bristol and Amanda Gill and her husband, Laurence, of White Plains, N.Y.; two great-grandchildren, Hailey and Kaitlyn Dooley; and several nieces and nephews. Military funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007, at 9 a.m. from Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, to St. Ann Church for a Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bristol. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home Friday between 4 and 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Ann Church Memorial Fund, 180 Laurel St., Bristol, CT 06010 or to the Alzheimer's Association, 279 New Britain Road, Kensington, CT 06037. Online guest book is available at www.funkfuneralhome.com.

©The Bristol Press 2007