LEWISTON – Roland P. Turgeon Sr., 87, of 100 Campus Ave., Lewiston, died Monday, April 12, at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

Born in Lewiston on May 29, 1916, he was one of 12 children of Raoul and Marie (Lapierre) Turgeon. Educated locally, he started working at the age of 13, helping deliver baked goods to stores from Lewiston to Augusta. He later became a welder, a trade he was very proud of, working at BIW during World War II and in the local mills.

It was at one of his mill jobs that he met Elizabeth Ruel, and they were married in St. Mary’s Church on Nov. 8, 1941. In 1951, they moved to Plainville, Conn., where he worked as a welder for several companies, and moved back to Maine, upon his retirement in 1976.

As a child, he was fascinated by the stories of his uncle, William Turgeon, a World War I pilot and, according to family legend, the first pilot in the Maine’s Flying Wardens. He became a pilot himself and in 1940, joined the Civil Air Patrol, an organization he belonged to in both Maine and Connecticut off and on for several years.

His father, Raoul, was a trolley car driver whose run was from Lewiston to Mechanic Falls and back, and he often rode along and took a turn behind the controls. He made annual visits to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, and drove the trolley himself every chance he got.

He was an outgoing man who was always available to help out family and friends, and anyone who asked for his help always got a big “10-4!”

Survivors include his wife of Lewiston; two sons, Roland Jr. of Wilmington, N.C., and Ronald of Wallingford, Conn.; three daughters, Theresa Turgeon and partner Gracia Woodward of Bowdoinham, Madeleine Worjanorski and husband William of Bristol, Conn., and Judy Ricard and husband Rick of Bristol, Conn.; a brother, Robert and wife Theresa of Lewiston; three sisters, Yvonne Brisson of California, Cecile Paradis of Lewiston, and Jacqueline Myroup and husband Robert of Arizona; six grandchildren, Ruel and Paul Woodward, Jennifer Worjanorski, Katie Turgeon, Cheryl Harris and husband Duncan, and Trevor LaVergne; and many, many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a son, Donald in 1969; six brothers, Lucien, Albert, Gerard, Leo, Maurice, and Roger; and a sister, Georgette.