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The Legend
Harold O. Bouchard
June 3, 1935 - February 22, 2013
Harold O. Bouchard left Fort Kent on June 3rd, 1958 to work with his Dodge dump truck for two weeks hauling gravel for the construction of what is today Bangor Int'l Airport. When he got to Bangor he could hardly speak English. After two weeks he decided to stay. And now his company H.O. Bouchard Inc. has been a business leader in the trucking industry thru his tireless efforts. The company he founded is now 100 trucks strong and 175 employees based in Hampden, Maine.
In 1991, Harold spun off the logging side of H.O. Bouchard to form Comstock Woodlands on the Golden Rd. Recently, Comstock Woodlands was awarded Northeast Region Logging Company of the Year for 2012, making H.O. very proud of the efforts of his people to receive such an award.
Harold has always put the company and his people above the rest. His famous saying "It Can Be Done" has been heard by many around him, his employees, his customers and his family all knew that the word "CAN'T" never existed in his vocabulary. Many folks have constantly commented on his ability to be a part of everyone's lives. He had to fix things for everyone.
He was a doer and shaker in business. He worked tirelessly on committees back in the early 80's to be sure that lawmakers understood that a six axle 100,000 pound truck and trailer was safe and made it happen in Augusta.
The recent efforts by Senator Collins allowing 100,000 lbs trucks and trailers on the Interstate highways made H.O. very proud to see it finally come to fruition. He could look back and see that his efforts early in the 80's transformed to what he always wanted, these trucks on the Interstate where they belonged.
Hands-on driving trucks and being a mechanic was always his passion. In fact, he was the first truck driver in 1985 to drive a three trailer off highway truck down the Golden Rd weighing at 495,000 lbs, proving to Great Northern that this could be done safely with his innovated ways of doing things. This record was sent all over North America.
Harold always made sure that his neighborhoods were up to his expectations and manicured both in Hermon, ME and in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He currently was president of his home owners association in Palm Beach, washing people's driveways, washing their decks, changing light bulbs, making sure the pool was spotless, even though he never used the pool. His passion to help people was first and foremost.
Countless donations to people and organizations was always a part of his life. He always wanted to give back to people and communities. Coming to Bangor in 1958 with $ 300 loaned to him from his father, has always stuck with him, and he always wanted to make sure that no one had to endure his life's challenges. He will be missed by hundreds of lives that he has touched.
His passion to fund raise for important causes such as Cancer Care of Maine was high on his list, he was always there to assist folks with their cancer needs.
At age 65, he decided that he could no longer play tennis, so he decided to challenge the game of golf, and put a concentrated effort at being good, like everything else he had ever tackled. He loved golf, and playing in golf scrambles with close friends and his grandson was always exciting for him. He enjoyed golf with his wife, Evelyn, in Florida and in Maine. He was always competing with her, but she got the Hole in One in Florida, not him.
His legacy will live on forever, having his son, Brian, and grandson, Jeff, at H.O. Bouchard, Inc & Comstock Woodlands to continue what he stood for made him proud.
He was always very willing to help all family and friends whenever he felt they were in need. He always put people before himself.
