Obituary of Theodore "Dick" LeMay

Theodore Wilfred "Ted" "Dick" LeMay, age 90, of Rudolph, passed away Saturday, January 17, 2015 at Riverview Hospital in Wisconsin Rapids. Funeral services will be at 12:00 P.M. on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home. Father Dave Bruener will officiate. Burial will be in St. Philips Catholic Cemetery in Rudolph with military rites rendered by American Legion Post 485, for which Dick was a charter member. Visitation will be from 10:30 A.M. until the time of services on Wednesday at the funeral home. Dick was born on November 22, 1924 in Alberta, Canada to Louis and Signe LeMay. They family moved to Rudolph, Wisconsin in 1926. Dick attended Rudolph schools and graduated from Rudolph High School in 1942. He followed his 3 older brothers into the military during World War II and served in the US Navy from 1942-1946. He achieved the rank of Second Class Petty Officer Radioman and served on the USS Missouri under General MacArthur. When the bulletin was received in August of 1945 that the Japanese had surrendered, Dick was on duty in the radio room and passed the message to General MacArthur. Upon returning after the War, he worked on the family farm with his father. He married Marie Jane LeMay on July 28, 1951. Dick was hired by Consolidated Papers in 1952 and worked there until 1987. Dick and Marie lived in Wisconsin Rapids with their 4 children until 1971, when they purchased the family farm from Louis LeMay. Dick lived on the farm for the rest of his life. In addition to being a ferocious ping-pong player, Dick will forever be remembered as a kind and gentle man with a twinkle in his eye and a spring is his step. He was a natural farmer who could make almost anything grow. His happiest days were spent on the farm, especially when working with his horses. He found great joy in working with his teams of draft horses, which at times were Belgians, Percherons, and Clydesdales. Dick is survived by his wife, Marie; brother, Harold; sisters, Alice and Helen; children, Janice, Dennis, Sue, and Larry; grandchildren, Kelsey (Matt) Peterson, Matthew Jaeger, Christopher Reinwand, MacKenzie Reinwand, and Levi Reinwand; and great-grandchildren, Emerald and Zoey. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Norman, Raymond, and Maurice. Herman-Taylor Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Wisconsin Rapids is assisting the family. Online condolences may be expressed at www.taylorfuneralhome.net