1911 – 2004

LEWISTON – Lionel A. Lemieux, 92, formerly of 259 Central Ave., Lewiston, died Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Marshwood Nursing Home.

He was born in Augusta, Jan. 23, 1911, one of 12 children of Henry I. and Delina (Dutil) Lemieux. His early life was spent in Augusta, where he was graduated from Cony High School in 1928. He was active in debating and public speaking in high school and college and was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Championship Debating Team in 1933, the year he was awarded his BA degree from Bates College.

He was past president of the Bates Chapter of Delta Sigma Rho Phi Kappa Sigma, national forensic society; a member of the Bates College Club; and active in Bates alumni work.

In 1956, Mr. Lemieux was cited by the college for distinguished service. Mr. Lemieux worked his way through high school and college as a telegraph operator for the Western Union Co., later traveling as an operator and manager in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

He began work as a reporter for the Lewiston Evening Journal Jan. 22, 1940, specializing in Lewiston city affairs. In 1946, he became legislative reporter and political writer for the Journal, authoring a weekly column, Maine Politics, for eight years and becoming dean of Maine Political Writers.

He was promoted to City Editor Sept. 10, 1954, and to editorial writer of the Lewiston Daily Sun on July 19, 1961.

He was the author of a weekly newsletter on Maine, for the Boston Sunday Globe from 1952 to 1965. During World War II, Mr. Lemieux served as the first director of the Office of Defense Transportation for Lewiston. He was a corporator of the Auburn Public Library from 1959 to 1965, a trustee of the library from 1960 to 1965; and a former president of the Webster School Parent-Teachers Association.

Long active in civic affairs, he formerly was a corporator of the Central Maine General Hospital, a member of the Lewiston-Auburn Chamber of Commerce and of the United Way and its predecessor, the Community Chest. Mr. Lemieux was a charter member of the Lewiston-Auburn Junior Chamber of Commerce, the first in Maine.

Mr. Lemieux retired as editor of the editorial page of the Lewiston Daily Sun on June 3, 1982. His first wife, the former Loretta A. Rioux, passed away on Jan. 15, 1971, after 37 years of marriage. On Dec. 13, 1980, he was married to his second wife, the former Barbara Frost.

Besides his wife of Lewiston, survivors include a son, Paul and wife Linda of Orlando, Fla.; a daughter, Janet and husband Charles McMahon of Rockland; a stepdaughter, Anne Marie Clark of Gardiner; a daughter-in-law, Rose Lemieux of Littleton, Colo.; eight grandchildren, Larry Lemieux, Linda Shreader and husband Joseph, Julie Lemieux, Peter Lemieux and wife Chris, Mark Lemieux and wife Sarah, Jeanne Flanders and husband Mike, Katie Woods and husband Matthew, and Sarah Seavey and husband Christopher; three stepgrandchildren, David Patterson, Kathryn Patterson, and Colin Clark and wife Jessica; and four great-grandchildren, Kerri Shreader, Lorien Shreader, Camille Woods, and Aidan Woods. In addition to his first wife, he was predeceased by two sons, Lawrence, who died in infancy, and David, on Aug. 22, 2002; nine brothers; and two sisters.

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