Francis P. "Bike" Becigneul

Francis Paul Becigneul, 85, of Grant Township, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Francis was born on December 7, 1939; the cherished son of the late Henri and Cecile Becigneul.
Francis is survived and missed by his loving wife Janet (née Carpenter) of nearly 58 years; and his children, Paul (Michelle), Corrine (John), Elizabeth (Todd) and Carey (Rick). He will be forever cherished and remembered by his nine grandchildren, Janette (Russell), Eric, Kaleigh, Rebecca (Aaron), Todd (Summer), Ryan, Corey, Rene, and Caitlyn as well as his three great-grandchildren, Callie, Hailey, and Calvin. He is also survived by his loving siblings, Suzanne, Lawrence, Jerome (Cheryl) and Gertrude (Jerry).
Francis proudly served in the United States Army from 1963 to 1965. His tremendous skills as an expert marksman and sharpshooter kept him at Fort Polk, Louisiana, where he trained troops on the standard issue M14 before they went off to Vietnam. After his honorable military service, Francis "Bike" embarked on a long and dedicated career as a firefighter for the City of Detroit starting in August of 1965. Francis worked hard and became certified and licensed as a FEO. In his early years as an FEO he drove the back of the truck, when those rigs were deemed too dangerous, he moved to driving from the front. Francis was passionate about his service and became well known as the FEO who was always first to arrive at the fire, which was quite the competition amongst FEOs. There was even a time that he left a station so fast after the call came in that only one other firefighter made it on the rig before he took off; the "slackers" who "missed their ride" had to drive their own cars to get to the fire. He was widely respected throughout the department and was urged by his peers to take a leadership role in the Detroit Fireman's Fund Association, which is their union benefits company. Francis was voted in on his first attempt as a trustee. He served many roles over many years, eventually becoming President of the Fireman's Fund while still maintaining his regular firefighter duties. After 28 years of passionate service, and a lifetime of stories, Francis retired in the summer of 1992.
He was an outdoorsman at heart and embraced life in motion. In his younger years from waterskiing in Canada on Lake Erie where he met his wife Janet to playing hockey on canals, ponds, or in rinks on the Detroit Fireman team. In retirement he picked up competitive shooting where he taught his son Paul, granddaughter Janette and grandson Eric marksmanship. The four of them competed over decades, winning national and/or junior national championship titles together.
In retirement, Francis remained active and industrious, always working on projects around his country home, lending a skilled hand to help family and friends with their projects, savoring the peace and beauty of his country property and picking up new hobbies like quilting with his wife. The two of them have made dozens of beautiful quilts together; many gifted to their children to bring their newborns home in as well as to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren to adorn their beds and cribs.
As the years passed, he made a ritual of long daily walks accompanied by one of his beloved canine companions. Whether working with his hands or wandering the trails near his home, Francis found joy in simple, purposeful moments.
A celebration of life for Francis will be held on Friday, June 20, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Grace Memorial Life Celebration Center 4521 Ravenswood Road, Kimball, Michigan 48074. Interment and military honors will be held at Allied Veterans Cemetery in Port Huron on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Francis, please visit our Tree Store.