Don Edward LaMoreaux, 85

Don Edward LaMoreaux, 85, passed away peacefully at Lifecare Center following a short illness on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005, in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, 2005, at Coffelt's Moon Chapel in Sandpoint. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at Coffelt's Moon Chapel. Burial with military honors will follow at Pinecrest Memorial Park Cemetery.

Don was born on May 4, 1919, in Ponderay, Idaho, the son of Edward Pierce and Ida Netta (Cramer) LaMoreaux. He spent his early years in Ponderay. The family then moved into Sandpoint in 1927. He attended school in Sandpoint and graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1937.

In September 1940, Don joined the National Guard and was assigned to the 148th Field Artillery, 41st Infantry Division based at Ft. Lewis, Wash. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, he was transferred to the 205th Field Artillery and sent overseas. He served in Australia, New Guinea and Philippines during the war, achieving the rank of TEC 4. He received an honorable discharge from military service on June 22, 1945, after serving five years, three of which were overseas.

Don married Hazel Virginia Holton of Sandpoint on Feb. 20, 1942, in Tacoma, Wash.

He was well-known in the area as an excellent automobile mechanic and musician as well as an all-around handyman and airplane pilot. He worked at the same GM auto repair garage through many changes of hands. He began working for Patton and Anderson in 1950; it later became Henderson-West Motors, Wil-liams Motors and is now Alpine Motors. He retired in mid-1982.

Don began his professional musical career at the age of 12, playing with a group of friends calling themselves "The Ponderay Hillbillies." He was well-known in the area for his many musical talents playing the organ, pianos, bass fiddle and accordion at many dances, wedding receptions and other functions, including for "Farmer Gray" at the Panida Theater in the 1950s. He played for many years with "The Variations," particularly performing at the Hayden Lake Country club. Interestingly, though he had taken piano lessons as a child, he could not read music but could play almost anything by ear.

Don was a man of too many interests and talents to enumerate. As an avid pilot, he was a member of AOPA; Experimental Aircraft Association (EEA), Chapter 757 IPA; and North Idaho Ultra Light Association. He was also a member of the Bonner County Amateur Radio Club.

At his death, he still maintained his membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and 41st Infantry Division, Seattle.

After Hazel's death in 1988, Don found companionship with Faye Stevens. They were married on Sept. 2, 2000. They enjoyed multiple activities together, including traveling and attending fly-ins. Together with their friends, they brought up from the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille a steam engine that he had built as a teenager and which had been lost underwater for almost 60 years.

Don is survived by his wife, Faye Stevens LaMoreaux of Sandpoint; a brother, Robert LaMoreaux of Vancouver, Wash.; a sister, JoAnn (Blaine) Sisson of Sandpoint; a son, Mark (Chris) LaMoreaux of Moscow, Idaho; daughters, Diane (Hal) Anderson of Boise, Idaho, and Vickie (Demetrios) Tsapatoris of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Don was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Hazel; a brother, Glen (Bud); a sister, Grace; and a son, Jon.

Memorials may be made in Don's honor to the Panida Theater Committee, Inc., P.O. Box 1981, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

The family would like to thank Dr. Hugh Leedy, and the caring staff of the special care unit of Life Care Center of Sandpoint.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of Coffelt Funeral Service of Sandpoint.