Leo Lawrence Pierre

CHOTEAU - Leo Lawrence Pierre, 89, a Navy veteran who worked at several businesses in Great Falls and Choteau, died of natural causes Tuesday at a Choteau hospital.
Burial with military honors is 10 a.m. May 31 in Choteau Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Choteau. Gorder Funeral Home is in charge of cremation and arrangements.
Leo is survived by a daughter, Myrna (Ralph) Paulus of Choteau; a son, Ronald (Janice) Pierre of Eureka, Calif.; grandchildren Luke Paulus of Pocatello, Idaho, Leigh Ann Pierre Oetker of Manila, Calif., Joseph Paulus of Portland, Maine, and Nathan Paulus of Choteau; great-grandchildren Jairus, Mary and Patrick Paulus of Pocatello, Margot Robohn of Gulf Breeze, Fla., Olivia Oetker of Manila and Demetrius and Caelistis Paulus of Portland, Maine.
Leo was born Dec. 28, 1916, in St. Peter's Mission, Mont., the son of Eximer and Mary (Tabor) Pierre. He attended elementary school at the Sullivan Valley School and high school at Great Falls High School, graduating in 1934.
He married Joyce O'Hare on June 16, 1940, in Great Falls.
He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, and in the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict. During his life, he worked as a chauffeur and as a bellboy for the Falls and the Park hotels. He also worked on the Fort Peck Dam Project and at Martin's Shoe Repair in Great Falls. After his military service, he worked at Schroeder Oldsmobile as a garage mechanic and owned and operated Leo's Shoe Shop in Choteau. He also worked as a bartender for the American Legion in Choteau and helped his farmer friends with harvest.
Leo was an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, a former Boy Scout leader, receiving their Silver Beaver Award, and was a member of the International Order Of Odd Fellows, the VFW in Great Falls and American Legion in Choteau.
He was a member of the Choteau Volunteer Fire Department, the Treasure Statesmen Barber Shop Choir in Great Falls and also sang in the Trinity Lutheran Church choir.
He loved to play cards, especially Panguiny and cribbage, and loved fishing, hunting, hiking, cooking, gardening and traveling. He was known for making jerky and smoking and canning wild game and fish.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; his brothers John, Eugene, and Robert; his sister, Marie Bailey; and his parents.
Memorials are suggested to the Trinity Lutheran Church, Choteau; the Choteau Volunteer Fire Department; the Montana Council of the Boy Scouts of America; or the Teton Medical Center Nursing Education. Condolences may be sent online to www.greatfallstribune.com/obituaries.