WEST PARIS — Alfred Warren Lovejoy, 91, of West Bethel, passed away Friday, Oct. 29, at Ledgeview Living Center. He was the oldest son of Fred and Eleanor Lovejoy, formerly of Norway and Bethel.

Alfred was born Jan. 1, 1919, in Norway. He attended schools in Norway, Mason and Bethel, graduating from Gould Academy in 1936. He was employed by the Brown Co. of Berlin, N.H., as a bookkeeper in the woods department.

With the advent of America’s entry into World War II, Alfred was the first of the three Lovejoy brothers to enter the armed forces. He was assigned to the Air Forces and stationed in Miami Beach, later sent to Denver and finally to Romulus in Michigan. In 1943, he was transferred to North Africa and assigned to a new airbase being built in French Morocco. The base was guarded by French Foreign Legion and occupied by a squadron of British Spitfires but they soon moved out and the Air Transport command took over. Al remained at this base as Personnel Sgt. Major until the end of the war, returning for discharge at Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio, in December 1945.

Alfred returned to Dearborn and married Stella Yaszek on April 27, 1946.She passed away March 13, 2008. They bought a house in the Cherry Hill area of Dearborn and he got a job at the Ford Motor Co. Rouge Plant. Al worked for Ford for 26 years, retiring in March 1974.

Stella and Al bought a trailer and finally decided to build their retirement home on Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City. This kept them both busy for a couple of years. Then they took a western trip with two other couples and spent the whole winter fishing and sightseeing along the Oregon coast, California and several other states, finishing the winter on Padre Island, Texas. This trip required eight months and covered about 16,000 miles. This seemed to satisfy the wanderlust so they parked their trailer in a little town on Pine Island, Fla., spending winters there and summers on Grand Traverse Bay. Thus the years sped by.

Alfred was a member of the Faith Reformed Church in Traverse City, the West Bethel Union Church, a life member of the VFW and the NRA. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and the American Legion.

Survivors include his brother, Cleveland and his wife, Cathryn, of West Bethel; nieces, Dorothy and Ray West, Ellen and Rick Whitney, Sandra and Jerry Cairo, and Donna and Phillip Reuschell; nephews, Alanson and Tyrene Lovejoy, William and Michelle Bowman, John and Linda Clarke, George and Kathy Clarke; and many grand-nieces and -nephews.

Alfred was predeceased by his father, Fred; his mother, Eleanor; his wife, an infant daughter, Patricia; sisters, Dorothy and Lillian; and a brother, Kenneth.

Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.andrewsgreenleaf.com.

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