GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Denis A. Bonenfant, 66, died of cancer Sunday, April 14, at Haven Hospice.

He was the son of the late Laureat and Simonne Bonenfant, formerly of Lewiston. Denis graduated from Taunton High School in Massachusetts, then served a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force. Upon discharge, he married and raised two sons while pursuing a career with the Taunton Police Department. Earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal science from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, later led to achieving the rank of detective in that organization.

Following retirement, he embarked upon a new career in religious studies leading to ordination in the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church. He then maintained a private ministry at St. Michael’s Chapel (Gainesville), where he published theological works on the New Testament. All the while “Fr. Andrew” maintained a secular career first as head of security of Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York, and later as a security officer for the Family Center in Gainesville.

This quiet, good natured, unassuming man was known for his kindness, humor and intelligence.

He is survived by his wife, Doris Bonenfant; two sons, Brian and Craig Bonenfant of Taunton, Mass.; an adopted daughter, Sara Davis of Old Rock, Texas; a brother, Richard Bonenfant and sister, Susan (Bonenfant) Hassie of Gainesville; and a host of grandchildren.

“Other people see what you have done. God sees what you can become.” — Father Denis Andrew Bonenfant (2012).