Piette, Lawrence

Other Events:

• Education - High School: 1934, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
• 1940 Census: 1940, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA
• Military Service: Bef 1946
• Obituary: 7 Jun 2004; Appleton Post Crescent

Notes:

Education - High School:
Appleton High School Class of 1934

1940 Census:
Charles Piette72
Josephine Piette68
Lawrence J Piette24

Military Service:
WWII - 4 years

Obituary:
Piette, Lawrence J.Lawrence J. Piette, age 88, of Appleton, died on June 5, 2004, at home sur rounded by his family. Larry was born in Appleton on March 18, 1916 to Cha rles and Josephine (LeCapitaine) Piette. He was the youngest and last surv iving child in the family. Larry was a life-long resident of Appleton exce pt for the four years he served his country in World War II. He graduat ed from St. Mary Grade School, Appleton High School, Lawrence University a nd did post-graduate work at St. Norbert College in De Pere. On June 28, 1 946, he married Claire Marin deGravelles at the Church of the Assumpti on in Franklin, Louisiana. This union was blessed with four sons and thr ee daughters. Marin preceded him in death in January, 1969. On June 197 0, he married Jeannette deGravelles at St. Mary's, Appleton. Larry was a l ifelong member of St. Mary Parish, Appleton, having served the parish as T rustee from 1953 to 1991. He was also a visitor to those hospitalized a nd to the homebound of the parish, bringing them Holy Communion and his o wn presence and interesting conversations. He also served on the Parish Co uncil during his years as Trustee, was an usher, was President of the Ho ly Name Society (years ago), and served on various committees and drive s. He was very proud to be on the Mooring House Board of Directors for ma ny years. His love of children and of education prompted him, during his r etirement, to volunteer as a tutor for the Hmong students at Jefferson Sch ool. His first love, though, was his family as he so often said, "What el se do we have besides family?" Larry served his country during World W ar II as an officer in an all-volunteer American and Canadian unit, the Fi rst Special Service Force (FSSF), a precursor of the Green Berets. Larry w as a paratrooper and their unit was trained to jump into Norway and destr oy the Germans' heavy water plant. This mission was canceled. Instead th ey were used in combat situations. Larry was overseas for about three year s. He first went to the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific where the FS SF conducted an amphibious assault on Kiska Island, only to find that t he Japanese had abandoned it. They returned to San Francisco and shipped o ut to Africa, halfway around the world. He was at Casablanca. From Afri ca they went by boat to Italy and fought in the mountains. It was here th at they took Mount Difensa. Larry was awarded the Silver Star for brave ry in action at Mount Difensa. From there they made the push to Rome, incl uding the landing at Anzio during which time Larry was wounded and receiv ed his first Purple Heart, the first of three. After being discharged fr om the hospital, his unit was sent to invade Southern France. The FSSF w as there two days before the Landing in Southern France. They followed alo ng the Mediterranean to the borders of Italy. It was here that he foug ht in the battle at Villeneuve-Loubet, a small city in Southern Franc e. He was wounded at Grasse, France, the perfume center of the world. Befo re the battle, someone had given Larry a bottle of Chanel #5 which he h ad in his pocket, hoping to take it back to the U.S. When he was wounde d, the perfume bottle broke and Larry always claimed to be the best smelli ng casualty of WWII. In addition to the Silver Star mentioned above, Lar ry was awarded the Bronze Star with clusters, the Purple Heart with cluste rs and six battle stars, and the Croix de Guerre with a gold and silver st ar at the French embassy in Norway. The citation was signed by General DeG aulle. Following the war, Larry was employed by Kimberly-Clark Corporati on as a Research Chemist and worked there until his retirement in 1978.Larry is survived by his wife, Jeannette; his children, Charles Piette, Wa uwatosa; Mark (Becky VanRyzin) Piette, Rothschild; Melanie (Frank) Popa, M urrysville, Pa.; Abbie (Carl) Nordholm, De Pere; Daniel (Doreen Stoller ), Houston, Tx.; Jeannette O'Connor, Houston, Tx.; and Matthew (Laurie Mak urat), Wauwatosa; his grandchildren: Alaric (Nicole) Piette, Josienne Piet te, Dominique Marin Piette, Yvette Piette, Abbie Marin Popa, Eric Nordhol m, Charles Lawrence Nordholm, Madeline Claire Nordholm, Quinn Lasse; step- grandchildren: Brian Larson and Julie Larson. He is further survived by in -laws, Pete (Jane) deGravelles, Lafayette, La.; Bob deGravelles, Modest o, Calif..; Abbie (T. Frere) McNulty, Franklin, La.; Charlie (Randy) LeBla nc, Franklin, La.; Renee (Tom) Stirling, Franklin, La.; and many nieces a nd nephews.Larry was preceded in death by his first wife, Marin, his parents, Charl es and Josephine Piette, a son-in-law, Bill Lasse, siblings: Emma Piette A ustin, James Piette, Dan Piette, Madeline Piette Thies and Pearl and Raymo nd who died in infancy. His in-laws from Louisiana who pre-deceased him we re his mother and father in-law, Pete and Abbie Marin deGravelles and a si ster-in-law, Mary deGravelles Moreau.The Mass of Resurrection celebrating Larry's life will be Wednesday, Ju ne 9, 2004, at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) at St. Mary Church, 312 S. State St., App leton, with Father Bob Lexa officiating. Visitation will be on Tuesd ay at the funeral home from 5 until 7 p.m. with a prayer service by Sr. Jo anne Goessl at 7 p.m. There will also be one hour of visitation prior to t he service at church on Wednesday.In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established for St. Mary Churc h. Burial will be at St. Mary Cemetery, Appleton.The family would like to thank Sr. Joanne Goessl, Fr. Mike O'Rourke and F r. Bob Lexa for their care and concern; also the Affinity Hospice Staff, B eth, Astra, Molly, and Ellen during Larry's last days and for his niece, M ary Jo Thies and nephew Eugene Piette who visited Larry often.WICHMANN FUN ERAL HOME537 North Superior StreetAppleton 739-1231www.wichmannfuneralhome s.com

Lawrence married deGravelles, Claire Marin 28 Jun 1946, Franklin, Louisiana. Claire was born Abt 1925; died 31 Jan 1969, Appleton, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA. [Group Sheet]

Lawrence married deGravelles, Jeannette [Group Sheet]