Albert R. Lemaire, Navy veteran
Albert R. “Reds” Lemaire, 94, departed this life Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, Mimi and Chet Morris, in Florence, Mont., who cared for him until his passing.
Born June 16, 1929, in Port Arthur, Texas, to the late Arny C. And May (Pundt) Lemaire, Reds, a jocular red-head always known as Buddy to his family, moved to Rehoboth Beach in the mid-1930s when his father accepted the post of commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Indian River.
A graduate of Rehoboth High School, where he played football, baseball and basketball, Reds was also a Korean War veteran, proudly serving four years in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Iowa.
On Sept. 19, 1953, Reds married the love of his life, Beckie Small. They lived and raised three daughters in the Rehoboth Beach community. Working first at Thoroughgood Appliance as a repairman, Reds started his own very successful business, Lemaire’s Home Appliance Service, in the mid-1960s. In retirement, Reds and Beckie traveled the U.S. extensively in their motorhome, embarking on such adventures as rafting down the San Juan River and riding mules down the Grand Canyon.
After his wife’s passing in 2014, Reds moved to the beautiful mountains of Montana with their daughter Mimi and her family. There he had a fully equipped woodworking shop, where he crafted beautiful furniture that his family will cherish. He was a man who could fix, make or build almost anything. Spending most summers in Delaware with daughter Melissa and family on Herring Creek, Reds enjoyed pontoon boating, golfing, and gatherings with his Delaware family and friends. He truly had the best of both worlds. A lover of crosswords and a master jigsaw puzzler, Reds completed over a hundred puzzles these last years, keeping his mind sharp as a tack until the very end.
Ever a storyteller, Reds delighted his children and grandchildren with tales of old Rehoboth, where as a boy he delivered newspapers twice daily on the streets of dirt earning a penny for every three papers delivered, and of when he was a caddy at the old Rehoboth Country Club in town making 50 cents and learning what was to be a lifelong love of golf. A diehard Eagles Football fan, Reds began listening to their games on the radio in 1933, the year of their inception. A loving father and grandfather, Reds was committed to his family and will be dearly missed.
Reds was predeceased by his parents; his wife, Rebecca Lemaire; a daughter, Mandy Paradee; sister, Geraldine Purdy; and brothers, Roland C. Lemaire and Kenneth R. Lemaire. Left to cherish his memory are a sister, Dolores Donahue of Lewes; devoted daughters, Melissa Jackewicz (James Marshall) of Millsboro, and Mimi Morris (Chet) of Florence, Mont.; nine grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
Services will be private.
