PETER EDWARD DESJARDINS

DESJARDINS PETER EDWARD DESJARDINS April 23, 1923 - February 16, 2012 Peter E. DesJardins was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest child of Louis P. DesJardins and Marie Betz. He was married to Dorothy Lee Hays who died in November 2011. They had resided in Springfield, Missouri for over thirty years. He had previously been married for 27 years to Agnes E. Dolan with whom he had six children: Christine DesJardins of Covington, LA, Michael DesJardins and his partner DaVen Lewis of New Orleans, LA, Peggy DesJardins Schoen and her husband David of Covington, LA, Thomas DesJardins and his wife Monica of Lucas, TX, Marie DesJardins Grussing of Lafayette, LA and Katherine DesJardins Bull and her husband Julian of Encino, CA. He is also survived by nine grandchildren. Pete was raised in Kirkwood, Missouri. He attended St. Louis University High School in St. Louis where he received a treasured Jesuit education. He attended College at Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, where he was a member of Theta Kappa Phi Fraternity and graduated as a Petroleum Engineer in January 1944. He then entered the Navy, received a Commission at Columbia University on New York, and, after serving with the Navy forces protecting the Gulf of Mexico, was released from duty as Commanding Officer of USS PCS 1384 at the end of WWII. He worked for 17 years in Texas and Louisiana as a Petroleum Engineer for Shell Oil Company and then for 19 years for Hawthorne Oil and Gas in Lafayette, Louisiana, retiring at 59 when the company was sold. In retirement he and Dorothy enjoyed extensive travels, while he pursed his hobbies of genealogy, and rock and antique glass collecting. He self-published several genealogical books on the DesJardins Family and was a skilled amateur lapidarist. During retirement he and Dorothy moved from Lafayette, LA to Springfield, MO to enjoy the seasons and be nearer both of their aging relatives. In Springfield he served as an officer of an AARP chapter and was involved with the FMS Foundation. He is lovingly remembered by his children and grandchildren as a devoted father and grandfather. He was an articulate advocate for his firmly held beliefs. He will be buried next to his wife in Springfield, Missouri. Services will be private. Please sign the family guestbook on-line at www.ejfieldingfh.com.