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- ESCANABA - Raymond J. Boudreau, 82, of Escanaba, died peacefully on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, at Christian Park Village in Escanaba where he had resided for the past six months.
Although Ray's official birth date is recorded as Jan. 3, 1930, a date error in his at-home birth had him celebrating his birthday on Jan. 10 for all of his life. The error wasn't discovered until he applied for Medicare at age 65. He was the youngest surviving child born to Delia (Beauchamp) and Adelore Boudreau. As a teenager he worked as a skate boy for Dutch Flath at the Colosseum in Escanaba and performed with his brother Lawrence as "The Golden Twins" and with Joanne Beck and others in local skating shows. Ray attended Escanaba Area High School, Cloverland Commercial College, Bay de Noc Community College, and Northern Michigan University. He married Catherine "Joan" Mercier on Sept. 11, 1948.
Ray was a carpenter by trade and had worked along and with his brothers on home and commercial projects in the Escanaba area. He oversaw construction of St. Anne's School and Holy Name School in Escanaba and was a head of maintenance at Holy Name in its early years. He was then hired by Loren Jenkins as the first building inspector for the city of Escanaba.
In the 1960s American Timber Homes commissioned Ray to build a scale model for a Playboy Bunny Club House. Although his design wasn't selected for the actual construction, his house model traveled the country and was photographed with Michigan Governor Romney and his wife viewing it at its unveiling reception at Escanaba's House of Ludington. In his later years Ray enjoyed playing the penny slot machines at the Island Resort & Casino.
In addition to Joan, survivors include his children: Dennis (Shirley) Boudreau of Rock, Katherine "Dee" (Tom) LeCuyer of Plano, Ill., Karen (Ken) Tryan of Escanaba, Raymond Boudreau Jr. of Plano Ill., Mark T. Boudreau of Escanaba, and Debra (Dave) Rose of Escanaba; grandchildren, Julie (David) Klein, Denise (Mark) Boudreau-Seymour, Rebecca (Dan) Hall, Jennifer (Scott) Catey, Tom (Cassie) LeCuyer, Tony (Mary) LeCuyer, Sean (Lisa) Rivard, Jamey Rivard, Ashley Boudreau, Jared Boudreau, Heidi (Nathan) Belanger, Andrew (Shannon Swanson) Boudreau, Andrew Peters, Daniel LeClaire, Simon Rose, Maggie Rose and Todd Rose. He is also survived by several great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and his sisters Dorothy Kang and Katie Boudreau, both of Escanaba.
He was preceded in death by his son, David, in 2003, his infant daughter, Mary Ann, in 1964, and his granddaughter, Lisa VanLaanen Green, in 2009. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Leo "Bud", Octave "Frenchy", Hubert "Swede", Adelore "Junior", Lawrence and Robert and his sisters, Loretta Norlin and Violet Baker.
Raymond will be laid to rest in the Gardens of Rest Cemetery in Wells
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1930 - 2012 (82 years)
