AUBURN – Emile A. Lacroix passed away after a long illness battling cancer on May 4.

He was born on June 10, 1923, in Lac Drolet, Providence de Quebec, Canada. On Feb. 1, 1954, he married Rolande Guay. They resided in Waterbury, Conn., for a period of time and relocated to the Rumford area.

In Rumford, he made a living as a woodsman. His passion was working in the woods. He loved his work so much that he retired at the age of 76.

They relocated to Lisbon and then to Sabattus to be close to his grandchildren and sons and daughter. He loved his family and enjoyed them very much.

He had a great love for nature and respected all living things. His hobbies included gardening, reading, traveling and making his daily trips to Tim Hortons to have coffee with a group that he had befriended over a period of time. He really enjoyed people and making new friends.

He believed that one should leave a place a little better than when one found it. He lived his life in gratefulness and in appreciation of others and for things that others did for him.

He leaves behind his beloved spouse of 55 years, Rolande Guay Lacroix; his children, James P. and Suzanne M. Lacroix Garneau, Richard J. Lacroix and Luke J. Lacroix; two wonderful grandchildren, Eric P. Garneau and Jennifer L. Garneau; and two remaining sisters, Marie-Paul Lacroix of Victoriaville, PQ, Canada, and Clemence Lacroix of Quebec City, PQ, Canada.

He was predeceased by a son, Paul G. Lacroix, in May 1988; his brothers, Jean-Louis Lacroix, Jules Lacroix and Rene Lacroix; sisters, Lucie Lacroix and Annette Eyman Lacroix; and his parents, Albert and Jeanne Lacroix

The family would like to extend their appreciation to doctors and nurses of Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, the doctor and nursing staff of Marshwood Nursing and Rehab Center in Lewiston and Dr. Austin and the nursing staff of the Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice in Auburn. Your tenderness, respect and dignity as you cared for him was amazing and was very much appreciated by him and his loved ones.