William James LaLonde

Fearless to the end. The Lakes lost one of their finest fishermen, Captain William (“Jim”) James LaLonde, July 16, 2018 from natural causes. Born in Sault, MI, August 15, 1928, Jim spent 7 years of his childhood in the Emma C. Nason orphanage with his brother Bob where they were visited by their father, never by their mother, and were well cared for by the Native woman who worked there. Jim first worked delivering newspapers on a bike leased from his school teacher. He was very active, winning several swimming/diving competitions. After two Canadian professional hockey player brothers had Jim play goalie in a couple American games, he was scouted to attend a prestigious hockey school, but his mother wouldn’t sign the permission slip. At 14, Jim ran away from his mother’s home and joined the Merchant Marines after the Canadian military denied him entrance due to his age. “I saw Russia on my 15th birthday”, Jim said, “and was lucky I made it back from that trip, only half of us did”. He joined the Navy and then the Army (as a paratrooper) where he trained others, earned his GED and various military medals, and boxed (holding “Quickest Knockout” record in the Golden Gloves for several years). Jim courted and married Irene Stevenson, who was smart enough to propose. After returning home from the military he held various jobs: guitar playing and lounge singing, logging, selling Michigan trees in LA at Christmas, hunting, and trapping to sell pelts. He proudly opposed the DNR, spending a couple days in jail advocating against hunting fines and taught others how to avoid DNR fake “deer” traps. Jim also earned his airplane pilot license, but had it taken away because he flew too close to a car his friend was driving in the Sault. Jim operated his own Pilot Boat in Bay Mills from 1961 – 1974, taking pilots on/off the foreign ships that went through the Sault locks. He was one of the first tribal commercial fishermen on the Lakes, even taking Abe LeBlanc out on his first few commercial fishing trips before Abe got his own boat. It was among many times Jim didn’t get caught, but he did have his picture in the Soo Evening News making a net and advocating for our tribal fishing rights. When Lake Superior was too dangerous for the Coast Guard’s boats, Jim was sometimes asked and went out saving lives using his 42’ steel tug. Jim raised his family in Bay Mills, where it was easier to work but close to the tribe, which was important to him because his father and uncles had been taken away from the Sault to an “Indian School” missing out on many years of teachings he wanted for his own children. Jim owned a kennel for years- breeding, training and selling AKC Registered Blue and Red Tick Hounds. He competed in the I-500 his son Rocky qualified for in the early 70’s. The two later earned welding certifications, and dredged around the Midwest and West Coast. Jim lived with his wife and son on a beach in Oregon dredging out the Columbia River after Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1982, until the beach was restored and the government made it illegal to live there. Jim retired from the Port of Portland, earned his advanced scuba certification, then began independently dredging the Klamath River in Northern California for gold and was part of the New 49’ers club. Jim got to know the Karuk Indian tribe, who treated him as one of their own elders, giving him 50 pounds of salmon each year. He took several trips to Alaska to dredge gold and picked and sold mushrooms in Oregon while visiting his children and grandchildren. After Irene passed, Jim spent winters in California and summers home in Michigan- fishing, gardening, picking blueberries, and watching the fights, poker, and Fox News. In his month shy of 90 years on earth, Jim taught us many lessons: “don’t spend your life arguing”, “the only thing you get out of life is what you eat”, and “the best winds for fishing are from the South and the West”. He was honorable, kind, a wonderful husband and father, and the best grandpa a kid could ask for. He didn’t want a lot of attention but was thankful for the time he had with everyone, and it warmed his heart that his daughter stayed at his bedside until the end. Jim was predeceased by his wife of fifty years, Irene LaVerne (Stevenson) LaLonde; daughter, Penni Yvonne (LaLonde) Dumback; son, Rockne (“Rocky”) Allen LaLonde; parents, Theodore (“Jack”) Pascal LaLonde and Florence Myrtle (Nicholson) LaLonde; brothers, Ted (“Ham”), Fred and Bob LaLonde and his baby sister who passed away when 5 days old. Jim is survived by his brother, Donald Harold LaLonde; daughter, Dawna Lee LaLonde; Penni’s children, Krystal (Dumback) Huyck, Tiffany and Nick Dumback; Rocky’s children, Michael LaLonde and Danielle (Cradduck) Fairchild; Dawna’s children, Stacey and Kevin Saich, and Jesse Singh; Krystal’s children, Trenton and Eric; Nick’s son, Monte; Michael’s stepchildren, Kristen, Ramsey, Taylor and Grabrielle; and Danielle’s children, Dakota and Nicholas. Jim’s family thanks Pickford Pennington Home staff, everyone who donates to Pennington Home (especially R. Galer Funeral Home and the Quilters), Sault Tribe Health Center staff (especially Dr. Wilkerson and RN Virginia), WMH, and Arfstrom’s staff. Please make any donations, on behalf of Jim, to Pennington Home or the Salvation Army (which was his favorite charity due to the help they provided him and his fellow servicemen). R. Galer Funeral Home in Pickford, Michigan is serving the family. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rgalerfuneralhome.com.

Tributes

William James LaLonde

August 15, 1928 - July 16, 2018