Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | August 10, 1891 |
Place of Birth | Montebello, Quebec |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Married |
Next of Kin | Wife: Blanche Lajeunesse, Kenora P.O., Ontario |
Trade / Calling | Farmer |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 2383835 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | Canadian Forestry Corps |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Forestry Corps |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Conscripted |
Address at Enlistment | Kenora, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | April 22, 1918 |
Age at Enlistment | 26 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | November 2, 1967 |
Age at Death | 76 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | RC A -8-1 |
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