Rejean “Reggie” Poisson was born on a farm in Kingsey Falls, Québec, his family moved to the United States when he was a young boy to build a new life in America. A photo of their Québec farm hung proudly on his wall all these years. On his 19th birthday he walked into the US Army recruiting office in Manchester and enlisted – not yet a citizen, but eager to serve his adopted country.

He trained as a UH-1 helicopter mechanic – crew-certified on the iconic Huey – and served in Vietnam with the Americal Division’s medevac crews. He was part of the team that flew in to bring wounded soldiers out.

He returned home in 1968 having earned the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Expert Badge (Rifle), and the Aircraft Crewman Badge.

After his time in Vietnam he was naturalized as an American citizen, and was honorably discharged in 1969.
Back in New Hampshire, Reggie built a family and a home, setting down lifelong roots in Hooksett.

He joined Anheuser-Busch at their newly-opened Merrimack brewery, and stayed until he retired 39 years later. He worked the line – packaging, bottling, and eventually the brew house – moving through nearly every corner of the plant and becoming the kind of man who knew everyone, and who could do anything asked of him. He was a proud member of Teamsters Local 633, and he believed in personal commitment and the dignity of hard work.

Among family and friends, Reggie was famously generous with his time – happy to help however he could, and usually the first to arrive. At home he tended a garden that his children would describe as unreasonably large, but which yielded crops and life lessons in equal measure.