Obituary of George J. Guilbault

George J. Guilbault, of Peabody, formerly of Natick, a prominent Boston employee benefits consultant and musician, died Tuesday July 4, 2006 at age 71. Mr. Guilbault, who had a wide-ranging career in musical theater prior to becoming an executive, was founder and director of the Benefits Consulting Group at the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray. Mr. Guilbault began his musical career as a youngster, playing trumpet on radio stations in his native Amsterdam, New York. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where he was appointed to the faculty while still a student, he worked as a staff arranger in New York City for Ray Charles Singers, Perry Como, and other well-known performers in the 1950s. Mr. Guilbault also spent two summers at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly as assistant conductor and pianist in the orchestra. Later, he hosted an historical series on American musical theater for National Public Radio that featured luminaries such as legendary Broadway arranger Robert Russell Bennett and performer Barbara Cook. In 1981, he founded the Wintersauce Chorale, a 16-voice group that performed a winter concert series in Boston, representing all periods and styles of music, for more than 15 years. He was the composer of fourteen choral pieces published by The Boston Music Company. In recent years Mr. Guilbault served as a governor of the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston and as a member of the Board of Visitors of the New England Conservatory, where he also was a member of the finance committee. Recently, he and his wife Janice endowed a musical theater scholarship at the Conservatory in partnership with their long-time friend, and Mr. Guilbault’s Conservatory roommate, Broadway arranger William David Brohn. In addition to being a talented arranger and conductor, Mr. Guilbault enjoyed a storied career in employee benefits consulting, both in New York City and Boston, first at Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, then later as a vice president at Johnson & Higgins of Massachusetts in Boston. An expert in private pensions, he delivered congressional testimony during the passing of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which regulates private pension plans and employee benefits. While leading the Benefits Consulting Group at Ropes & Gray, he assisted locally with the early design of health maintenance organizations and served as an advisor to numerous corporations and schools, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Perkins School for the Blind. A Trustee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary for ten years, he was also a board member of many pension, compensation, and employee benefits industry organizations, author of many articles on employee benefits, and a frequent lecturer on complicated industry regulations and legislation. In addition to being survived by his loving wife Janice M. (Collins) Guilbault, Mr. Guilbault leaves three sons, Peter Guilbault and his wife Laura of Hubbardston, Timothy Guilbault and his wife Jeanne of Montpelier, Vermont, and Donald Harrington and his wife Margo of Cumberland Center, Maine; two daughters, Patricia Rosen and her husband Monty of Upton, and Susan MacKinnon and her husband Stephen of Natick; two brothers, Frank Guilbault of Hammondsport, New York, and Daniel Guilbault of Harrisburg, North Carolina, and ten grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 19th, at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel at Brooksby Village, 300 Brooksby Village Drive off Route 114, Peabody. Donations may be made to: Musical Theater Scholarship Fund New England Conservatory 290 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 or Benevolent Care Fund Brooksby Village 100 Brooksby Village Drive Peabody, MA 01960