SHREWSBURY- Reverend Paul W. Lemire, 79, Retired Senior Priest with the Diocese of Worcester died Saturday, March 14, 2015 in UMass Memorial Medical Center- Memorial Campus surrounded by his loving family.

He was born, June 17, 1935 in Worcester, one of four sons of the late Albert A. and Charlotte A. (Carlsen) Lemire. Fr. Lemire graduated from Saint Peter’s High School and Worcester State College where he received both his Bachelors and Masters of Education. His first teaching position was with the Sutton School Department for only one year before transferring to Auburn High School where he taught Chemistry for 23 years, retiring on June 30, 1985.

His wife, Mary E. (Boyle) Lemire died in 1982. After retiring from teaching in 1985, He was called into his second vocation which he loved and entered into Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston where he received his Masters of Divinity degree in May of 1989. Fr. Lemire was ordained to the holy priesthood on June 3, 1989 by Bishop Timothy Harrington in St. Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester. Fr. Lemire’s first assignment was to serve as the associate at St. Boniface in Lunenburg, then serving as an associate at St. Mary’s Church in Southbridge before becoming the Pastor of St. Thomas –a-Becket Church in Barre and later becoming a Senior Priest in Residence at Saint Joseph’s Church in Auburn and his last residency of Saint Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury.

Fr. Lemire was the loving father of Patricia A. Lemire of Southbridge, Paul W. Lemire, Jr., and his partner, Brenda Lemire of Webster, Charlotte A. Broadard and her husband, Anthony of Worcester, and his daughter in law Robin A. (Hochevar) Lemire of Oxford; he also cherished his nine grandchildren, Shellie, Matthew, Missi, Ashlee, Marc, Jessica, Sean, Jonathan and Kaytlyn ;his four great grandchildren, Marissa, Faith, Lilliana and Harlei and several nieces and nephews. Besides his wife, he was predeceased by his son, David M. “Red” Lemire and three brothers, Donald, George and Charles Lemire.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Fr. Lemire’s family on Thursday, March 19, 2015 from 4-8 PM in the Britton-Wallace Funeral Home, 91 Central Street, Auburn. A con-celebrated funeral Mass will be on Friday, March 20, 2015 at 11:00AM in Saint Anne’s Church, 130 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury. Burial will follow in Saint John Cemetery, Worcester.