VAN BUREN – Relatives, friends and former customers will be saddened to learn of the death of Thomas I. “Peter” Cyr, 86, June 25, 2006, at his Violette Street residence after a period of failing health. He was born March 21, 1920, in Frenchville, the son of Eloi and Lucie (Madore) Cyr. Except for a brief period in the military, and after a medical discharge, he became part of the war effort being a member of the crews building Liberty Ships in Portland. At the end World War II, he returned to Van Buren and with his father, established a sawmill, which served the Van Buren area for a number of years. He was often heard to say, “Our lumber built Loring Air Force Base,” and felt a distinct loss when the base closed. After the death of his father and loss of his lumber mill due to a fire, he became an independent lumber broker. If it had anything to do with lumber, he sold it. Thomas’ deep and abiding love for his wife and family was the driving force of his life. He reveled in the lives of his children and grandchildren, and their accomplishments. He always let them know how much he loved them. He was a passionate and skillful fly fisherman, having enjoyed many trips to the Gaspe region with friends. He loved to travel, especially to France and England where he visited on several occasions. After retirement, due to poor health, he spent three months of the year at Ocean Rise Condominium where he certainly felt at “home.” Thomas was a founding member of the Van Buren Lions Club, a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council 1635 of Van Buren and a strong supporter of the Van Buren Boy Scout Troop 196. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Patricia (Wood) Cyr, of Van Buren and Cumberland Center; three daughters, Margaret “Peggy” Cyr of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Elizabeth “Poppy” Hayden of Gray and Helen “Posy” Alves of Cumberland Center; three sons, Peter Charles Cyr and his wife, Patricia, of Standish, Anthony J. Cyr and his wife, Lori, of Arvada, Colo. and Sean T. Cyr of Kings Beach, Calif.; one sister, Margaret Meyers of Cincinnati, Ohio; 10 grandchildren, David and Charlotte Gick, Rachel and Alex Hayden, Elise and Anthony Alves, Julia and Brittany Cyr, Katie and Jennifer Cyr. There will be no visiting hours. A funeral Mass will be celebrated 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 28, at the St. Bruno-St. Remi Catholic Church. Interment will be in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Edmundston, New Brunswick. Those who wish may contribute in his memory to the Boy Scouts of America or to the A.J. Morneault Memorial Library, 153 Main St., Van Buren, ME 04785. A service of Ouellette-Thibault Funeral Home, 118 High St., Van Buren. To leave online condolences, please visit www.ouellettefuneralhome.com
THOMAS I. ‘PETER’ CYR
