JAY – Lionel Fournier and his family – including a brother-in-law from Montreal, Canada – had just watched President Barack Obama being sworn in Tuesday when the phone rang.

They were asked to be outside Fournier’s Elm Street residence in a half-hour to see his nephew, Steve Bourgault, of Mashpee, Mass., fly overhead in a helicopter. Bourgault, who served with the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue, had achieved the rank of petty officer first class and was classified as an aviation electrical technician on his retirement.

The Coast Guard flies up from a base on Cape Cod, Mass., to Portland on a regular basis for maneuvers, so it wasn’t too far to go, Fournier said.

It was a special occasion, he said. His 34-year-old nephew, who was born in Lewiston, was retiring from the service due to medical reasons. Though Bourgault grew up in Canada, he was born while his parents were in Maine visiting relatives.

“It was his last flight, his last day,” Fournier said. “He was in Portland. We had just got done watching the inauguration and everyone was already emotional.”

He set up some chairs in the driveway and they waited for Steve and the helicopter to arrive.

When they did, Bourgault made five or six passes over the residence in Chisholm Village near the Androscoggin River and hovered over his house for about five minutes, Fournier said.

“Talk about being emotional … We had a bottle of champagne. We toasted to his good health and retirement,” Fournier said.

Grandparents Armand and Rejena Gauvin, who live in an apartment above Fournier, joined in the celebration.

Fournier’s son, Brian, was able to see the helicopter and his cousin, Steve, and wave to him as the chopper flew over Verso Paper’s Androscoggin Mill, where Brian works.

“We started our day 100 percent beautiful,” Fournier said. “I brought out the U.S. flag I fly during the summer in the front of the house, and was waving it.”

Steve got emotional when he saw it, Fournier said.

“We were taking pictures of him and he was taking pictures of us,” Fournier said. “It was emotional.”