John W. BOURQUE

BATH - John W. Bourque Jr., 84, formerly of Pine Street, died Friday, May 27, 2005, at a Westbrook nursing facility.He was born in Bath on Jan. 31, 1921, a son of John W. Sr. and Mary D. Doucet Bourque. He attended local schools and graduated from Morse High School, Class of 1940. While at Morse he played football.He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and participated in the campaigns of Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.He married Shirley L. James in August 1947, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bath. He worked as an outside machinist for Bath Iron Works for more than 40 years and retired as a lead man.He enjoyed playing cribbage at the Elks Lodge, spending time at his cottage on King's Point on the New Meadows River, boating, coaching his son's little league baseball team, and spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.He was an excellent dancer to big band music and an avid fan of Boston sports teams. He was a communicant of St. Mary's Catholic Church and a member of the Bath Country Club and Bath Lodge of Elks.He was predeceased by his wife, who died July 10, 1996; and two sisters, Dorothy Perry and Amerise Tucker.He is survived by a son, John W. Bourque III and his wife, Doris of Topsham; a sister, Amerise E. and her husband, Brian Luce of Windham; three grandchildren, Kathleen and her husband, Bruce Dyer of Harpswell, Colleen Luce of Lake Mary, Fla., and Karen Luce of Windham; two great-grandchildren, Morgan Dyer of Harpswell and Amber Actlis of Windham; and three nieces.There will be no visiting hours. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 10 a.m., Friday, June 3, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 144 Lincoln St., Bath. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery, Bath.The family wishes to thank the staff at Springbrook Center for Health Care and Rehabilitation and special niece, Dawn Watson for the exceptional care provided to John. Arrangements are by David E. Desmond & Son Funeral Home, 638 High St., Bath. --- BATH - In his 80s, John W. Bourque Jr. attracted a much younger crowd. His biggest fans at the Elks Lodge were men 30 years his junior. At his daughter's home, where he'd lived for the past three years, his 4-year-old great-granddaughter, Amber Actlis, was his mischievous co-conspirator."He got quite a kick out of Amber," said his daughter, Amerise "Risa" Luce, who had four generations of the family living at her house in Windham.Mr. Bourque, formerly of Pine Street, died Friday at a Westbrook nursing facility. He was 84 years old."He was a happy-go-lucky guy," Luce said. "He and Amber would bounce a ball back and forth, and she'd call it 'playing man-to-man.' "Don Small remembers Mr. Bourque as his Little League coach in 1959, then becoming friends with him as an adult."He was one of nature's original characters," Small said. "He always left you with a smile on your face. We used to tell stories about him for hours, whether he was sitting there or not."Small said he appreciated the fact that he and Mr. Bourque were both born and raised in Bath."I enjoyed looking at Bath through his eyes," Small said. Mr. Bourque followed the path of many local young men of his generation: He graduated from Morse High School, served in the Army during World War II and then went to work at Bath Iron Works. He married, raised his children in the city where he was born and retired from the shipyard after 40 years.Along the way, he collected an endless stream of stories, which he loved to share."He was good company," said Mike Hart, a fellow member of the Elks. "He was comedic, even when he didn't mean to be." Hart recalled taking a drive to watch the harness races at the Topsham Fair. Despite having lived in the area forever, Mr. Bourque took a wrong turn and headed back to Bath by accident."I tried to tell him he'd made a mistake, but he kept telling me, 'I know Maine!' " Hart said. "He thought it was funny when he realized I was right."Mr. Bourque weathered bad times with good humor, as well, Small said.His wife, Shirley, suffered from Alzheimer's disease and lived out the last part of her life in a Bath nursing home."He visited her every day," Small said. "At the end, I'm sure she didn't even know who he was, but he never said anything. He never complained." Shirley Bourque died in 1996.Mr. Bourque loved the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. He never made it to a game, but he followed them on television, especially for the winning Super Bowls and, finally, the World Series, his daughter said.