John J. Arsenault

John Joseph Arsenault, born Jean-Paul on August 23, 1950, in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, passed peacefully on November 5, 2025 after undergoing treatment for a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer diagnosed in September. His kind, loving, and selfless spirit still surrounds his wife, Mary Jane (Platek), and daughter, Emily, both of Weymouth, his siblings, Regina Darcy of Bourne, Rose Mai Palmacci of Medford, Ernest Arsenault of Hudson, Ronald Arsenault of Sandwich, Raymond Arsenault of Marlborough, Bernard Arsenault of Douglas, Anne-Marie Arsenault of Bourne, Janet Corazzini of Stow, and many beloved nieces, nephews, and in-laws. He is predeceased by his mother, Rita (Collette), his father, Eric, and brother, Robert Thibodeau.

John immigrated to the United States from Canada with his family at the age of two, grew up in Waltham, served his country in the Navy for four years, and attended Bentley University. He was a person who found purpose and value in hard work, delivering newspapers as a boy, working in his father’s construction business, and spending his professional career as an applications developer, systems consultant, and software quality engineer. For the last eight years, he was grateful for his role at Fresenius Medical Care, still working remotely until the beginning of October.

He was a devoted husband and father, the model of a truly equal partner and supportive, involved parent. John embraced simplicity in his everyday routines, finding happiness in car rides and conversations around the dinner table, football games and puzzles, TV marathons, raking fall leaves, and searching for the brightest planets in the night sky. Throughout his life, he led by example and is remembered for his unwavering care and respect for all, his deep commitment to his family, his calm and steady presence, his helpful and easygoing nature, his earnest sense of humor, and his true appreciation for and contentment with the little things in life.

John’s family expresses their gratitude for the compassionate care he received at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center at South Shore Health during the last two months of his life. In particular, they thank the nurses, nursing assistants, hospital staff, and physicians who not only brought their expertise to this fight but treated John with dignity and kindness, easing this difficult journey as much as they could.

John's funeral Mass will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 22, at Church of the Resurrection in Hingham, MA, followed by his interment at the Columbarium at Glastonbury Abbey, also in Hingham. In John’s memory, please consider making a donation to Cradles to Crayons.