Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthAugust 10, 1891
Place of BirthMontebello, Quebec
CountryCanada
Marital StatusMarried
Next of KinWife: Blanche Lajeunesse, Kenora P.O., Ontario
Trade / CallingFarmer
ReligionRoman Catholic
Service Details
Regimental Number2383835
Service Record Link to Service Record
BattalionCanadian Forestry Corps
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Forestry Corps
Enlisted / ConscriptedConscripted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentApril 22, 1918
Age at Enlistment26
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathNovember 2, 1967
Age at Death76
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
PlotRC A -8-1

Lajeunesse, Antoine Armand

Antoine ‘Armand’ Lawrence Lajeunesse born August 10, 1891 was the first of at least 6 children of Antoine Baptiste Lajeunesse and Olive Lacombe.   He was born  in Montebello, Quebec, the town where his parents married   in 1889.   By the census year of 1901 the family had moved to Rat Portage (known later as Kenora).   The next five of his siblings were then born; Edward/Edmond, Eugenie, Leo,  Augustine and Roland.

As a young man before the war was called, Armand worked in the lumber business as a labourer.   By the time he became a soldier his occupation was listed as a farmer.

On September 25, 1917 Armand married (Marie Rose) Blanche Belair in Kenora.    The family was French  and  belonged to the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church in Kenora, Ontario.  By November of 1917 Armand  completed his medical exam  in Kenora and was  found ‘fit for duty’.   On April 22, 1918 he  signed his attestation papers in Port Arthur, Ontario and was placed with the 1st Depot Battalion of Manitoba.   At some point he was transferred to the Forestry Corps.   Although his obituary mistakenly stated the 2nd world war, it was the First World War that he served in and went overseas. Armand was discharged due to demobilization on 10 January 1919 in Port Arthur.

At one time Armand and Blanche  lived  in Norman, Ontario.   Later they moved to the Rural area of Kenora in the Jaffray-Mellick Township and were farming. They had at least 11 children; daughters – Antoinette, Agnes, Lucille, Theresa, Gabrielle, Irene; sons – Lawrence, Regis, Joe, Raymond and George.

Armand Lajeunesse died November 2, 1967 at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg,  Manitoba.   Burial was in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in the  Roman Catholic Block – Devotion Gardens, Kenora, Ontario.   He was 76 years old leaving to mourn his loss was his wife, Blanche, his 6 daughters, and his 5 sons.    Also surviving Armand were 2 sisters, Mrs. Marie Augustine Rushton and Mrs.  Eugenie Miault,  and 2 brothers, Leo and  Roland, all of Kenora.   His sister’s husband,  Horace Walter Rushton #1250376 also served overseas and predeceased him  in 1953.

His wife Blanche died 2 years later in 1969 and is also buried in the Lake of the Woods  Cemetery  beside him.   His parents,  Olive  (died in 1926) and  Antoine (died in 1940) are  also both buried in the Roman Catholic section of the  Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario.

By Linda Pelletier

Lajeunesse-98 Lajeunesse-99 Lajeunesse-Antoine-99


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