Rosemarie LeClair

Rosemarie (Milne) LeClair passed away peacefully on October 6th at home, surrounded by her family.

Rosemarie was born September 22, 1930 to Harry Milne and Phoebe Marie (Coon) Milne in Saginaw, Michigan. She graduated as salutatorian from Arthur Hill High School in 1948. Then she spent a year at Kalamazoo College, before moving to Washington D.C. to work. Later she moved back to Saginaw to work in the family business at Milne Brothers Moving and Storage.

She met her future husband, Charles “Bear” Hubert LeClair, on a blind date arranged by Bear's brother-in-law, Bob Kampfert. She was originally hesitant because he was an WWII ex-marine who had been living in Alaska, but he was taking her to a nice supper club so she figured he couldn't be that bad.

Rosemarie and Charles were married on May 10, 1958 at Saginaw First Baptist Church. All four of their children, Lisa, Peter, David, and Mark were born in Saginaw. In 1964 the family left Michigan and moved to Washington to live on a farm. This was a big change for Rosemarie who had always lived in large cities and near her family. In 1969, the family added another child, Pamela Padgett who was 6. Pam stayed with the family as a foster sister for a year. Rosemarie continued to stay in contact with Pam and her family for the remainder of her life.

When all of Rosemarie’s children reached school age, she went to work for the Washington State Employment Security Department. She worked for the state for more than 20 years both in Toppenish and Yakima. While living in the Yakima Valley, she was an active member of the Buena First Baptist Church. She made many lasting friendships which continued through to the present.

After her husband’s passing in 2002, she moved to South Bend, Washington to be closer to her daughter. At that time she joined the South Bend First Baptist Church. She volunteered and joined the Pacific County History Museum, Willapa Harbor Quilters, and Research Club. She spent many hours watching her grandchildren and attending their extra-curricular events. She always kept up with the activities of each of her 19 grandchildren.

Her children remember that wherever they went, someone would recognize Rosemarie and thank her for her encouragement and mentorship. She was known to others as a kind, generous, and caring person who remembered everyone she met. In her work as an employment counselor, Rosemarie met many clients who needed some extra help and mentoring. She never shied away from providing some motherly advice or stern guidance to encourage them to become successful.

She was preceded in death by her husband Charles, her son Mark LeClair, and her brother Jon Milne. She is survived by daughter, Lisa (Eric) deMontigny of South Bend, Washington; son, Peter (Corinda) LeClair of Seattle, Washington; son, David (Geyla) LeClair of Almaty, Kazakhstan; and foster daughter, Pam (Craig) Herrick, of Whittier, CA. Additionally, Rosemarie had 19 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren with another great-grandchild on the way.

Rosemarie believed in supporting local charities. If you would like to make a memorial contribution, please consider donating to Willapa Harbor Helping Hands, POOL, Sunday Afternoon Live or another local charity of your choice.