William "Ben" Guay, 1942-2024, of Farmington, NH and formerly of Swampscott, MA passed away peacefully on April 30th, surrounded by his loving family.  He was the son of the late Irving E. Guay and Irene (MacDonald) Guay. His is survived by his beloved wife June (Ingalls) Guay with whom he shared 49 years of marriage, his daughter Stephanie (Guay) Martinek, her husband Rob, and his grandchildren Madi Thirolle, Zach Thirolle, and Zoey Martinek, all of Durham, NC.  He also leaves a brother, Irving E. Guay, Jr. and his wife Connie of Plymouth, MA.  He leaves a sister-in-law Shirley Geaney and her husband Kevin of Wakefield, MA.  He is also survived by his nieces Andrea DeGray and her husband Jason and their children Kevin, Allie and Brooke of Wakefield, MA and Erin Meehan and her husband Conor along with their children Owen and Emmy of Methuen, MA.

Ben attended St. John's Parochial School in Swampscott where he served as an altar boy and sang in the boys' choir. He graduated from Swampscott High School in 1960.  In 1964, Ben began working for New England Telephone Company as a craftsman and later as a first level supervisor.  In 1977, he retired from the phone company and started his own business as a commercial lobsterman/fisherman.  In 1986 he had a 35 foot Duffy &. Duffy lobster boat built which he named  "Irene M" after his mother.  During their years. Ben & June brought land in NH and built a log cabin.   They spent many weekends over the years clearing the land and finishing the interior of the house themselves.  In 2012 they retired to their log cabin in the woods.

Among Ben's hobbies were tending the large vegetable garden, walking in the woods of Sandwich, NH with his dogs Lukie and Katie, hunting, and canoeing the many different lakes with June.  He also loved being with his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren walking the Tobacco trails and outings at Jordan Lake in NC.

Ben was a member of the Swampscott Rotary Club, the Gerry V of Marblehead, where he served on the board of directors, and the Beach Club of Swampscott where he met his wife June in a member guest tennis tournament.

Funeral Services will be held Monday, May 6th at 10am at St. John the Evangelist, 198 Humphrey St. Swampscott, MA

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

The Alzheimer's Disease Research Fund

Duke Health Department and Alumni Affairs

300 West Morgan St.

Suite #1000

Durham, NC 27701

https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukehealth/?designation=3916988

OR

Spring Village at Dover

35 Pointe Place

Dover, NH 03820

OR

Northeast Animal Shelter

347 Highland Avenue

Salem, MA 01970

Or a charity of your choice.

Cremation care by Peaslee Funeral Home. To express condolences, please visit: www.peasleefuneralhome.com