Bissonnette, David
David "Dave" Bissonnette, 62, of Great Falls, a retired Air Force veteran and evidence technician for the Great Falls Police Department, died of a cerebral hematoma Saturday at a local hospital.
A vigil service is 7 p.m. Thursday at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel. Funeral Liturgy is 10 a.m. Friday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by military honors at the Veterans Memorial. Inurnment of ashes will take place at a later date in Hillcrest Lawn Mausoleum. Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
Dave was born July 7, 1948, to Richard and Josephine (Ackerman) Bisonnette in Los Angeles, Calif., where he was raised and educated, graduating from Pomona Catholic High School. He worked for Michael's Grocery Store in Pomona for a short time before serving for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a photographer and then NCO (noncommissioned officer) at the Malmstrom AFB command post for the last five years of his service. Following his retirement from the Air Force, he began working for the Great Falls Police Department as the evidence technician, a position from which he later retired.
On Aug. 22, 1970, he married Susan Lefholz in St. Charles, Mo.
Dave was one of the founding organizers of the Montana Veterans Memorial and the keeper of the flags, member of Knights of Columbus 4th Degree and VFW, and was an assistant manager for the farmers market.
Survivors include his wife, Susan Bissonnette of Great Falls; a daughter, Dawn (Todd) Reynolds of Prattville, Ala.; a son, Michael (Stephanie) Bissonnette of Great Falls; sisters Sheila Childress of Riverside, Calif., and Cyndi Wolski of Lake Montezuma, Ariz.; a brother, Jim (Lu) McAlpine of Oak Hills, Calif.; and three grandchildren, Alec, Ashlynn and McKenna.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and stepmother Harriet Bissonnette.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation , 30 E. 33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10016; or the Benefis Dialysis Unit, 1101 26th St. S., Great Falls, MT 59405.
Condolences may be posted online at www.schniderfuneralhome.com and/or www.gftribune.com/obituaries.
Published in Great Falls Tribune on August 18, 2010