Donald Joseph St. Germain
Donald Joseph St. Germain, 94, of Onaway, died at home very peacefully on the morning of July 10, 2019. The son of Eloi J. and Delema (Prodomme) St. Germain, Don was born in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada May 1, 1925.
A veteran of World War II and a proud Marine, Don served in the Pacific from 1943 – 1946. After returning home to Onaway, Don married Phyllis Tucker September 16, 1948 at the Tucker Farm in Waverly Township. They made their home west of Onaway and raised their boys on the banks of the Milligan Creek. Don and Phyllis were blessed with 60 years of marriage when Phyllis passed away in 2009. Fortunate to find love and companionship for a second time, Don married Linda Loshaw Bishop April 23, 2010 in Waverly Township. They enjoyed each other’s company and were happy to find each other.
Don worked hard to support his family, often working several jobs to pay the bills. For many years he drove the cream truck, collecting cream from dairy farms in the area and delivering it to the butter factory in Coleman, as well as worked in the forests of northern Michigan cutting logs and pulpwood. Don eventually took a position as a security guard at the UAW Education Center where he worked for many years before retiring in 1987.
An avid bowler, Don was on bowling leagues in Cheboygan for many years and later in Rogers City. He loved to hunt and was a skilled fly fisherman and master angler, receiving an award for an enormous pike he caught on Black Lake. He and Phyllis enjoyed many trips on their motorcycle, traveling all over the United States. A salt of the earth kind of guy, Don was content to spend the day picking berries, fishing on the Milligan, working in his garden or cutting firewood. He was known to stop at a neighbor’s or friend’s house to share the berries he picked, vegetables from his garden, or the fish he caught. He loved woodworking and woodcrafts.
Don was physically strong and tough as nails on the outside, but inside he was gentle and tender-hearted. He was fun-loving with a great sense of humor, good-natured, and neighborly. He was a loving husband and a great dad who taught his boys to hunt, fish and play baseball. He had a little twinkle in his eye when he joked around, a wonderful laugh and a warm smile.
Surviving Don is his wife, Linda St. Germain; sons, Dennis (Debra), Arden (Cindy) and Dale (Patty) St. Germain, all of Onaway; stepdaughters, Irma (Pat) Nolan of Fairbanks, Alaska, Sharon (Alan) Thompson of Wolverine, Brenda (Charles) Cadwell of Houghton and Joanne (Eric) Young of Cheboygan; as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Don was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis; a son, Larry St. Germain; a sister and brother-in-law, Emma and Jack Tucker; brothers, Roger and Kenneth “Butch” Covell; his parents; and a stepfather, Ralph Covell.
Visitation was at the Chagnon Funeral Home Friday, July 12, followed by a funeral service at Chagnon Funeral Home Saturday, July 13. Elder Thelma Curtis officiated. Don’s final resting place is in Tower at Forest Lawn Cemetery where Onaway Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5857 will have military honors following the funeral.
In lieu of flowers, Don’s family has suggested memorial donations to the Onaway Ambulance Equipment Fund or Hospice of the Straits, c/o McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation, 360 Connable Ave., Suite 3, Petoskey, MI 49770.
