William Joseph GERMAIN

William Joseph Germain Jr., 55, Ottawa, Kan., died June 8, 2005, at his home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Mandan, with the Rev. Patrick Schumacher officiating. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Military honors will be conducted by the American Legion Post No. 40 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 707.Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan, where a parish vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church.Bill was born Dec. 4, 1949, to William and Iris (Lytle) Germain Sr., at St. Alexius in Bismarck. Bill grew up and attended Catholic schools in Mandan. In 1967, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served in Germany and in the Vietnam War, receiving the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and numerous other medals.Bill married Shirley Skrien Aug. 4, 1978. They lived in Mandan, where Bill was employed by Jerry’s Supper Club as a chef. Moving to Jamestown in 1979, Bill was employed by Big Jim’s, Dakota Inn and Jamestown Country Club as head chef.He enjoyed spending time with his daughter, Maria, who resides in Las Vegas. His other interests were hunting, photography and making Native American crafts. He loved entertaining as a clown for the Shiners-Masonic, of which he was a member for 15 years.Memories of him are many, he will be greatly missed by his family and friends.Bill is survived by his daughter, Maria Germain, Las Vegas; four sisters and three brothers-in-law, Carol (Jack) Crumly, Ottawa, Kan., Beverly (Leroy) Baker, Ft. Lupton, Colo., Rebecca (Dave) Boedicker, Max, and Lisa Bachmeier, Max; eight brothers and sisters-in-law, Raymond (Lavonne) Germain, Grand Forks, Patrick (Darlene) Germain, Bismarck, Kevin (Roseanne) Germain, Dickinson, Scott (Deb) Germain, Bismarck, Ronald (Ramona) Germain, Erskine, Minn., Michael (Nancy) Germain, Fargo, Richard (Deb) Germain, Minot, and Justin (Ruth) Germain, Minot; 24 nieces; 19 nephews; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents.To share memories of William, go to www.weigelfuneral.com and sign the on-line guestbook.Visit the guest book at bismarcktribune.com Published in The BismarckTribune on 6/13/2005.