Louis William Duchaine Died 2019

DUCHAINE

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 2/24/2020 at 13:09:04

Sioux City Journal
13 December 2019

Sloan, Iowa

Louis William Duchaine, 75, of Sloan, passed away peacefully on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, after a brief illness, surrounded by members of his family.

Memorial services with interment of cremains will be held at a later date in St. Joseph Cemetery at Salix, Iowa. Online condolences may be sent to rohdefh.com.

He was the middle child of Lawrence and Muriel Duchaine and spent his childhood and adolescence in the small farming community of Sloan, Iowa.

Lou, as he was known by family and friends, attended Sloan Elementary School, Sloan High School, and graduated with the first Westwood High School class of 1962. He was an all-around athlete, participating in basketball, football, and his favorite sport of baseball, in which he excelled as a pitcher.

Upon graduation, he attended Norfolk Junior College in Nebraska, where he also played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox organization. Thereafter, wanderlust overtook him and he decided to see what the “big city” was like, taking off on his own by bus to New York City, knowing no one there, having no place to live, and without a job. He made a life for himself there, living in Manhattan and the borough of Queens, and working in the print ad department of Saks 5th Avenue. It was there that he met and married Norma Ortiz.

After leaving Saks’ employment, he settled in eastern Pennsylvania, first in the Pocono mountains, while working in the print department of Karol Media. Upon his retirement, Lou moved to Hunlock Creek, Pa.

Lou was a man of simple tastes who enjoyed best his solitude, which included stepping onto his porch to see what wildlife might be visiting, especially the many birds that gathered on his feeders and stray cats looking for a meal. Though he enjoyed his "alone time," Lou had many friends who enjoyed his company.

Lou had always been a collector of baseball cards and, in his later years, took up the hobby of matting and framing. He was a very skilled artisan who would create wonderful montages of sports cards for other collectors, traveling throughout northeast Pennsylvania to display his talent at various card shows.

He is survived by his sisters, Judy Bradley of Algona, Iowa, and Susan McMullen of Mountain Top, Pa.; a younger brother, the Rev. Monsignor Mark Duchaine of Moville, Iowa; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Lou was preceded in death by his parents; by his older brother, Larry; and by two brothers-in-law, Gerald Bradley and David McMullen.