David Leo Rancourt

David was born in Maine and raised in the Catholic faith, with its guidance and traditions. He came from a large, loving family and he and his first wife, Ruth, embarked on their life journey together after he completed college and service in the U.S. Navy. Together, he and Ruth created a large, loving family of six children—Mark, Ramona, Wayne, Monique, Edward, and Roger—in hopes of bequeathing a framework for life driven by a commitment to God, country, and family as well as service to others.

He advanced in his career as an electrical engineer for General Electric and Honeywell, while creating opportunities and life experiences for his children. This led to moves from Maine (David’s family home) to New York to Minnesota to Washington (Ruth’s family home and David’s station while in the Navy). We see our collective past and his presence reflected in us—camping trips with aluminum foil dinners cooked in a bed of coals (better known as Burnt Sacrifice) and s’mores, fishing trips with chalk lines and bobbers, driving cross-country in the family Ford van to visit relatives, picking fruits and vegetables in Yakima and subsequent round-the-clock canning, and solving mechanical problems and repairing things in ways which would make Rube Goldberg proud.

Nothing in his life would be seen by many as exceptional. That may be the point. In today’s world, we may have lost sight of the ExtraOrdinary impact one life can have when lived for the sake of others and guided by one’s faith in a larger purpose. Such was David’s life. He kept his faith when Ruth passed from cancer much too soon. He kept his faith when not everything played out as expected in his life or the life of his family and friends. David embodied the concept of “Unconditional Love” in the best ways he knew how, guided by his faith in the forgiveness of Christ and the waiting rewards in the afterlife.

He was blessed to remarry and spend more than a decade of his remaining years in the loving company and presence of Patrica Ann Johnson-Rancourt. She was truly a Godsend, and still is! Our hearts and many thanks go out to her for joining our family and exuding love and compassion for our dad and for us. David was not always a saint as anyone can attest that has ever sat at a card table playing hearts with him. :-) However, he was an ExtraOrdinary man who not only carved in wood, but carved his way into our hearts as well.

He survives in spirit and is reflected in Pat and her family, his six children and their spouses, his 11 grandchildren, his four great grandchildren, his siblings, and the others in this world for whom his presence brought warmth and comfort. A celebration of David’s life will be held at Blessed Hope Church, 10 Pleasant St, Waterville, Maine on November 20, 11:00 a.m. His family requests any contributions in his memory be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.