Andre Jacques Palardy

Andre Jacques Palardy of Dearborn, MI, passed away December 6, 2024 at the age of 95. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.
Andre was born in St. Jerome, Quebec (Canada) on July 11, 1929, the son of Raymond and Gabrielle (Marchessault) Palardy. He was the 8th child in a family of 12 children.
His early years were spent in St. Jerome, just outside of Montreal. Andre loved to play hockey with his brothers and neighborhood friends and was usually assigned to goalie, because he was one of the younger players. During World War II, Andre delivered telegrams with his dog Bobby, pulling a sled through the deep winter snow of Quebec.
Andre graduated from Montreal Technical College in 1949 and became a Pattern Maker.
White working in Quebec City, he applied for a position at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI and immigrated to the U.S. to work at Ford in 1956. At the time, Ford was the 3rd largest company in the world. Andre was a dedicated employee at FMC for 39 years starting out as a Model Maker and eventually leading his group.
He became a naturalized citizen in 1957. In 1958 he married Anna Margaret Mullan "Margie", and they reared 5 children: Andrea, Jerome "Jerry", Margaret, Gregory and Francis "Frank". The Palardy family lived in Detroit until 1971 when they built a home in Dearborn to be closer to his work. Andre and Margie loved new adventures and traveling. They travelled with their trailer and the family across the U.S. and down as far as Acapulco, Mexico stopping to visit most capital cities and national parks along the way. In their travels, they visited all 50 states and every Canadian providence except Newfoundland.
Andre was proud of this Canadian heritage, loved hockey and the Montreal Canadians. He played and coached recreational hockey in Dearborn for many years.
After retiring in 1995, he stayed very active. Andre and Margie belonged to square dancing groups across Metro Detroit for many years. Volunteering at The Henry Ford Museum, he met visitors from across the world, chatting and sometimes translating for French speaking tourists. He occasionally babysat for his grandchildren and took great pleasure in spending time with them.
Andre and Margie were avid cyclists, biking across Ireland, participating in Pedal Across Lower Michigan (P.A.L.M.), RAGBRAI across Iowa and cycling across Ohio. Andre was ahead of his time, riding his bicycle to work for health and environmental reasons. Even into their 80's, they continued to ride their bikes to Wyandotte (18 miles round trip) to watch the freighters on the Detroit river.
In his final years, Andre took daily walks around Snow Court, where he lived since 1971. He was affectionately known as Frenchie to those in the neighborhood, due to his French-Canadian accent. He will be deeply missed by family and friends.
Andre is survived by his 96-year-old wife of 66 years, Anna Margaret (nee Mullan), and his five children: Andrea Palardy (Gregory) Nielsen, Jerome R. (Louise) Palardy, Margaret E. (Frank Arthmire) Palardy, Gregory J. (Myung Hwa) Palardy, and Francis D. Palardy; and grandchildren Andrew Palardy, Ashley Palardy, Eric Nielsen, Aaron Palardy, and Hannah Palardy.
He is also survived by his brother Jacques (Lise Mireault) Palardy and many nieces and nephews.
He is predeceased by his siblings: Rita Palardy Roberge, Bernard Palardy, Marie-Paule Palardy Cavard, Claude Palardy, Yvan Palardy, Therese Palardy Beaulieu, Monique Palardy Lefebvre, Real Palardy, Cecile Palardy Goudreault and Marc Palardy.
A memorial mass will be held on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 – 11 a.m. at Christ the Redeemer Church, 2700 Waldon Rd., Lake Orion, MI, with a luncheon immediately following. The family will receive friends and family 10:30 a.m. until time of service. A private inurnment will be at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery in Southfield, MI at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Capuchin's Soup Kitchen (https://www.cskdetroit.org/), Detroit Public Television (https://www.detroitpbs.org/), or American Macular Degeneration Foundation (https://www.macular.org/).