David was the ninth of 16 children born to the late Alma and Arthur Pinette who emigrated from Quebec and settled on Water Street in Brunswick. He attended St. John’s Catholic School. On his 16th birthday, he replaced his father at work in the Cabot Mill, weaving on four looms without having had any previous training. Good with his hands, he was later employed at the Bath Iron Works in 1939 as a ship fitter.
Although he had a deferment while helping to build destroyers, he was eventually drafted into the Army in 1943 when it was deemed advantageous to have French-speaking American troops on the ground in the European theater. He served in reconnaissance and was often behind enemy lines. A recipient of the Bronze Star for bravery and two Purple Hearts for wounds received, he served under General Patton in the 4th Armored Division of the 3rd Army. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge for which his unit received special recognition and a Presidential Citation.
Shortly after his discharge from the service in 1945, David was wed to Antoinette Yvonne Comeau in Brunswick. After being variously employed and running his own light trucking business, David and family loaded the Studebaker pickup truck with all the belongings it would hold and two children for an arduous twoweek road trip to California. There David found work at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach as a tool-maker and the family settled in nearby Lakewood.
After 20 years and five children grown, Yvonne and David parted ways. Thereafter David and Alene Todd were married and resided in Garden Grove, Calif. After retirement, David and Alene summered in Maine for 30 years where they enjoyed the fruits of the sea, family, and the love and admiration of many nieces and nephews.
David Pinette was first and foremost a provider and father to his five children who collectively cannot recall when their father ever spent any money on himself, not so much as a fishing pole. His experiences in the war left him with physical and emotional scars that, like most humble veterans, he managed to overcome. Hobbies had to wait until he was retired and the kids were on their own. Then he amused himself making birdhouses and children’s toys for his grandchildren. His backyard garden was augmented by his “long arm” avocados and other fruit from over the fence. He is remembered fondly by his neighbors.
Survivors include his wife, Alene of Garden Grove, Calif.; his former wife, Yvonne Comeau of Brookings, Ore., and their five children: Charlene and her husband Chuck Dale of Brookings, Ore., Nicholas and his wife Kathleen of Oakland, Calif., Andre of Redmond, Ore., Arthur and his wife Karen of Lakewood, Calif., Theresa and her husband Rene Van Tilborg of Bend, Ore.
He is survived by three sisters: Rochelle Scheutzow of Winter Park, Fla., Valencia and her husband Gerard O. Menard of Brunswick, Maine, Denise Lebrun of Saco, Maine, and sister-inlaw Gertrude Pinette of Vernon, Conn.
He was predeceased by eight sisters: Cecile, Marie Laure, Therese, Lorina, Marcelle, Celine, Angela and Gloria, and four brothers: Laurier, Robert, Richard and Maxime.
He is also survived by eight grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren, the most recent being Drake Pinette-Constantine of Lakewood, Calif.
A memorial service will be held on Oct. 19, 2013, at St. John the Baptist Church, Brunswick, Maine, at 11 a.m., followed by interment with military honors at St. John’s Cemetery. A reception will follow at St. Charles Borromeo Church, McKeen Street, Brunswick.
To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com.
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