Mar 29, 1947 - Mar 3, 2018
DeGAGNE
Jake (Gerard Jerome)
of Red Deer, Alberta
It is with great sorrow the family of Jake DeGagne announces his sudden passing on Saturday, March 3, 2018, one day after attending his brother Raymond's funeral in Fort Francis, Ontario, near where Jake was born and raised on the farm near Devlin.
A celebration of Jake's life will be held at 1:00 pm on Friday, March 16th at The Red Deer Legion, 2810 Bremner Ave.
He was born on March 29, 1947 to Ulysse and Emilia DeGagne, seventh of their 12 children.
He worked hard all of his life, coming west to Alberta in 1967 to seek his fortune, making good use of his many mechanical and construction skills.
Jake and Betty Watson of Delburne were married on September 27th, 1968, enjoying nearly 50 years together.
Not long after they were married they returned to Ontario where Jake qualified as a certified millwright while working in a paper mill. After a decade there, they returned to live in the Delburne and Red Deer areas. Jake used his millwright skills at Ipsco, as it was known then, until his retirement.
He enjoyed building or renovating multiple houses, both in Central Alberta and in Arizona too.
Other retirement hobbies were fishing, playing horseshoes, and restoring and showing antique vehicles par excellence. His favorite use of these antique vehicles was taking his grandchildren and Jadyn to the Dairy Queen. He thoroughly enjoyed his family and friends.
In later years he and Betty wintered in Arizona with Jake's brothers and cousins, among other travels.
Jake leaves behind his two sons Kevin (special friend Heather Wall) and Dion (special friend Faye Van Humbeck); grandchildren Christopher Robb, Alexander and Melissa DeGagne; favorite great-granddaughter Jadyn; siblings Roger (Doris), Vinton (Arlene), Paul (Jan), Ed (Karen), Marcel (Valdean), Louise (Roy) Cull, Emily (Bob) Bishop, and Yvonne Smelt, sister-in-law Janis DeGagne-Nelson and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, brothers Raymond and Leo, sister Aurise and her husband Armand Manaigre, sister-in-law Susan, and brother-in-law Richard Smelt.
In lieu of flowers in Jake's memory, donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta.
Messages of Condolence may be left for the family at www.myalternatives.ca.