LYONS, OHIO HISTORY & PHOTOS
LYONS, OHIO HISTORY & PHOTOS
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ARQUETTE, Francis Oct. 6, 1935 - April 29, 2007  Francis Arquette, 71, of Adrian St., Lyons, Ohio, died Sunday, April 29, 2007, at Flower Hospital in Sylvania, Ohio. He was born Oct. 6, 1935, in Morenci, Mich., the son of Emery and Gladys (Carncross) Arquette. He married Joy Dunbar on June 6, 1959, in Lyons. Francis was a life-long Lyons area resident and owned and operated Arquette Construction from 1971 until 2002. He graduated from Morenci High School in 1954 and was a member of the Lyons Royalton Fire Department for 44 years, serving as assistant chief. He was a member of Lyons village council for 25 years. Besides his wife, Joy, Francis is survived by two sons, James Arquette of Crystal River, Fla., and John (and Debbie) Arquette of Lyons; two brothers, Donald (and Lois) Arquette of Sarasota, Fla., and Keith (and Karen) Arquette of Blissfield, Mich.; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Judy Arquette, and two brothers, Richard and twin brother Melvin. Funeral services for Francis are scheduled at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the Eagle Funeral Home-Charles Fink Chapel in Morenci with Rev. Brent Promeroy officiating. Interment will follow at the Lyons Cemetery. Visitation is planned from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Those planning an expression of sympathy may make memorial contributions to Lyons Royalton Fire Department. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Article published Toledo Blade on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 FRANCIS ARQUETTE, 1935-2007 Lyons contractor was firefighter, council member Francis Arquette, 71, a longtime Lyons Village Council member and volunteer firefighter who established the family's construction business, died Sunday in Flower Hospital in Sylvania of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Born in nearby Morenci, Mich., Mr. Arquette was a 1954 graduate of Morenci High School and moved to Lyons after his marriage in 1959 to Joy Dunbar. He worked in construction all his life, and was employed by the former Herman Brothers Construction Co., Sylvania, and the former Porter Lumber Co., Morenci, before founding his own business in 1971, Arquette Construction, Mrs. Arquette said. "He did building, remodeling, you name it," she said. At the time of the venture, Mr. Arquette also was a captain in the Lyons-Royalton Fire Department. He rose to assistant fire chief in 1973, and was joined in that position by the late Doyle Gillespie, whose son, Steve, also served in the fire department during that era. "Fran was very dedicated to the fire department." Steve Gillespie said. "He put in a lot of time and years of service. He wanted to see us better ourselves." Later in the 1970s, the department started building its new fire house, and Mr. Arquette made use of his experience and skills to oversee the construction of the building's office and kitchen areas, Mr. Gillespie said. He first joined the department in 1963, and went on to serve for more than 40 years. "In later years, he was a pump operator," recalled Dale Hallett, a friend and fellow firefighter. "But in his younger years when he was full of vitality, he waded into the fires like everyone else." Mr. Arquette developed a deep interest in the village affairs over the years, and decided to run for council in 1976. He then served back-to-back terms, with the exception of a 1 1/2-year break during the latter half of the 1980s. "He just loved to feel he was helping someone, and being involved with the community," Mrs. Arquette said. "Any spare time he had, if there was something going on in town - he tried to be there," she said. Mr. Hallett also sat on the Village Council with Mr. Arquette, and credited him and his foresight for realizing several years ago, ahead of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, that the village needed to install a sewer system. "Fran was a visionary," Mr. Hallett said. "He could see ahead." Mr. Arquette retired from Arquette Construction in 2002. Today, the business is run by his son, John Arquette, and Kevin Arquette, the son of his late twin brother, Melvin. John Arquette said that his father's strong work ethic and his ability to build trust with his customers were great inspirations for him. "It was nothing for people to leave their houses unlocked and to give dad the full rein, and to think nothing of it," he said. Surviving are his wife, Joy Arquette; sons, James and John Arquette; brothers, Donald and Keith Arquette, and four grandchildren. Visitation will be after 4 p.m. today in the Eagle Funeral Home-Charles Fink Chapel, Morenci. Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the funeral home. The family suggests tributes to the Lyons-Royalton Fire Department. |
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Lyons Ohio History This page was created April 30, 2007 Web page by Charles Paul Keller http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~keller/lyons/work/obit75.html
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