Joseph A. Cerutti, 79

CENTER HARBOR — Joseph A. Cerutti passed away peacefully on May 13, 2018, after a period of declining health.

Born in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Jan. 16, 1939, Joe was the son of Joseph P. Cerutti and Barbara Jones Cerutti of Ashland, Massachusetts.

Joe attended school in Ashland, Massachusetts, graduating in 1957 from Ashland High School where he was president of the Student Council and an outstanding athlete, setting records in football, baseball and basketball. He was a graduate of Brown University, Class of 1961, where he played football and was enrolled in ROTC. Joe was a valued member of Brown 1st Rugby Team, and a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Following graduation, Joe and his wife Ruth Bell bought a home and began raising their two sons while Joe was teaching industrial arts at Ashland High School and studying architectural drawing at Wentworth Institute. He then began a long and successful career in the Home Building Business, working for William Bell Associates in Ashland, Massachusetts, Brill Homes in Vermont, and Hodgdon Homes in Maine, before moving his family to Center Harbor in the mid ’70s when Joe accepted at position at Prescott Homes in Meredith.

In 1982, he, along with Bill Hoagland, began their own building company which became Cerutti Custom Homes which Joe owned and managed until his retirement in 2007. During his 25-year career, his company, with the help and support of a great team of subcontractors, built many beautiful homes in the Lakes Region, and garnered the respect of many customers and associates.

Joe was an active member of the Lakes Region Home Builders Association and, in 1994, was named the Lakes Region Home Builder of the year. For more than 40 years, Joe was a member of the Meredith Rotary Club, serving as president, chairman of the Fishing Derby, chairman of the Hesky Park renovation, and a valued member of the Rotary team which built the boardwalk around Meredith Bay and the dugouts in Meredith and Center Harbor. He was a member of Waukewan Golf Club, the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce, and New Hampshire Seniors Golf Association.

In his retirement, he enjoyed spending time in his home in Center Harbor, hiking, skiing, traveling, reading, and attending many theatre productions.

He is survived by his wife Susan W. Cerutti of Center Harbor; sons Joseph A. Cerutti Jr. and his wife Kathleen of Derry and Richard A.  Cerutti of Center Harbor; their mother Ruth Bell of Center Harbor; his brother Paul Cerutti of Lewiston, New York; and sisters Ann Diana of Ashland, Massachusetts, Evelyn Gast of Citrus Heights, California, Patricia Agostinho of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and Carrie Dee of Leicester, Massachusetts; and several loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 31, at 11 a.m. at the First Congregational Church in Meredith. The Rev. Russell Rowland, pastor, will officiate. A private burial will be held at Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough.

Because of Joe’s long affiliation with the building industry and his love of learning, memorial contributions may be made to the Lakes Region Builders & Remodels Association Scholarship Fund, PO Box 105, New Hampton NH 03256. LBRA provides educational scholarships to students furthering their education in trade-related fields as well as equipping tool boxes with high-quality tools for students entering the workforce directly after high school.

The Mayhew Funeral Homes and Crematorium, in Meredith and Plymouth, are assisting the family with their arrangements. To sign Joe’s Book of Memories, see www.mayhewfuneralhomes.com.