David A. LeMieux 1931 - 2020 Monday, January 4, 2021
A gentle, humble, and wise Frenchman, David Allen LeMieux was born August 20, 1931, to David and Helen LeMieux in Minot, ND. He passed away on December 24, 2020, surrounded by his children, who were his best friends.
He was raised during the Great Depression and World War II in Stanley, ND. He was a proud Stanley Blue Jay and an all-sports athlete, graduating in 1948. Go Blue Jays! Being involved in the family farm implement business, Stanley and the community always remained close to his heart.
After high school, Allen attended Carroll College and the University of North Dakota (UND), earning a Bachelor of Science in Commerce in 1952. Allen proudly served overseas as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. After his military service, Allen returned to UND to complete his law degree. He graduated from the School of Law, passing the North Dakota State Bar in 1958. He then moved to Great Falls, MT and worked for a law firm and passed his Montana State Bar in 1959.
In Great Falls, he found friendship and fun at the Gannon Ranch. Through his kinship with the Gannon brothers, he met the joy of his life, "Luke" Lucille Gannon. They married on January 9, 1960, and settled in Boulder, MT, where Allen began his career as Jefferson County and City Attorney. He loved Jefferson County and its ways. Allen was instrumental in making Boulder and Jefferson County a better place to live, along with the likes of George Paradise, Dr. Phil Pallister, Harold DeMers, and other community leaders. Allen opened his own private practice after his time as County Attorney until he happily retired in 1996. He was a humanitarian and a noble public servant. Allen was highly respected, and many sought his wisdom and counsel.
Allen and Luke shared 60 years of love and adventures while raising 9 children. Allen said to raise a large family took courage and faith. They raised their "LeMieux Crew" with love, integrity, hard work and play, discipline, laughter, and humility.
Some of our favorite thoughts of Dad: Making his famous fudge "failures," French crepes "piggy wiggies," peanut butter frosting, pies, and Dutch oven cooking in the mountains. Dad loved family backpacking and horse pack trips. Family outings would include campouts, museum visits, roadside geology lessons, family sing-alongs, and our treasured trips to Alaska. He shared his passion for aviation by taking us to many airshows and fly-ins throughout the Pacific Northwest. He was an avid reader; we would often find Dad in a library or bookstore. He lined our home with overflowing bookshelves everywhere. He was a talented pianist, watercolor artist, and writer. Our family's love of basketball began with our Dad. We will always remember Dad's game of behind-the-back passes, hook shots, and "North Dakota" free-throws.
We would like to share a page from his personal journal. Dad was asking himself the question, "What would I do if I knew I only had one day to live?" His precious words will not only encourage you to love each other well, but they will give you a small glimpse into the heart of the amazing father we had.
One Day: "Be sure everyone in our family knows I love them more than anything and that they've given me tons of joy and that I'll never forget them and will always be with them and will look anxiously to the time when we can be together in person as well as in spirit. And I'd hug them all and hug them all and thank them for being in my life and ask them to forgive me for any and all hurts I may have caused them and then I'd hug them some more and we'd sit close together by a nice stream and I'll keep saying thanks, thanks and how wonderful it's been just to know you and live with you and to say once, "Pray for me." and I'll help you and be with you all the time, wherever you are. Maybe we would have a pizza and Pepsi party, but I'd want to hear everyone's voice lots and lots and look into their eyes and see lots of smiles. And I'll tell them it's ok. I'm in them always and so I'll never be far away from any of them and if they want to talk to me, I'll always be there, listening, loving and cheering them on!"
Allen was a man of wisdom, great intellect, and virtue. Integrity was the only shirt he wore. A lawyer, a soldier, an aviator, a miner, rancher at times, oilman, horseman, a planter of trees, writer, artist, geologist, outdoorsman, all things man; but above all, he was our dad. Our forever guide.
Allen is survived by his children John (Mary) of Manning, ND; Rita Bullock (Lance) of Boulder, MT; Monica Stone (Ron) of Wallace, ID; Colette LeMieux (Vernon) of Montana City, MT; David of Boulder, MT; Alex (Mary) of Clancy; MT, Bernadette Botz (Michael) of Billings, MT; Maria Rogne (Steve) of Helena, MT; and Pierre (Jamie) of Jefferson City, MT. He is also survived by 26 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren: 13 granddaughters (Rachelle, Miranda, Sarah, Morgan, Jaden, Kaitlin, Ivy, Hailey, Ellie, Laura, Mary, Aysia, and Landry), 13 grandsons (Tyler, Jeremiah, Matthew, Nicholas, Cody, Dylan, Joshua, Forrest, Daniel, Hayes, Andrew, Garrett, and Lane), and great-grandchildren (Autumn, Logan, Cedar, Jasmine, and Peyton). Allen is survived by his sister, LeRita Knight, along with his large and loving Gannon family.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, "Luke" Lucille LeMieux, infant great-granddaughter Paisley Jo Bennett, his parents David and Helen LeMieux, brothers Bob and Blaine LeMieux, sisters DeVona Blaisdell, Marian English, and Theresa Knutson.
Allen asked us to be fair, be kind and generous, and to love one another. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Allen's favorite charities: Doctors Without Borders, 40 Rector Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10006, www.doctorswithoutborders.org or Operation Smile, 3641 Faculty Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23453, www.operationsmile.org.
Dad's prayer: "God Bless the World and All Those Who Are in It!"
A family mass is planned, and a public celebration is pending.
Funeral Home Link: https://helenafuneralhome.com/obituaries/david-a-lemieux-age-89-of-boulder/