Alfred Paul Lefebre

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary, with a rosary to follow at 7 p.m. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

He was a port of entry officer with the Department of Revenue.

Survivors include his wife, Emeline B.; six sons, Richard A., Robert A., Larry J., Michael P., Joseph P. and Thomas J., all of Grand Junction; two brothers, Amos and John, both of Pueblo; two sisters, Mary Gallegos of Monte Vista and Maureen Gallery of Pueblo; 11 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Alfred P. “Range” LeFebre passed away at home, surrounded by family, on June 29th, 2016. He was 89 years old. Al was born on December 13, 1926 to Alfredo and Ana LeFebre in Manassa, CO. He spent his childhood on the family farm working with his father.

Al graduated from Manassa High School in 1945 and joined the military three years later. He proudly served in the U. S. Army from 1948-1953 as a part of the 2nd Infantry Division Indian Head Battalion.

Al married Emeline B. Lopez on December 22nd, 1951 in Los Cerritos, CO. They moved to Grand Junction in 1952 and he went to work for the Colorado Department of Revenue Port of Entry. He worked there for 30 years, retiring in 1987. He often worked two and three jobs to support his growing family. After retiring he stayed busy building the Walking Plow Ranch. He built a barn, stalls and a fence by himself on a small piece of property north of Grand Junction.

Al was a parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He led the effort in 1976 to name K of C Council 1062 after the Franciscan priests Dominguez and Escalante who explored Western Colorado. Al spent many hours volunteering for the Latin Anglo Alliance, for which he was a founding member. He also volunteered for the Grey Gourmet delivering meals to the elderly. Al was always willing to help anyone in need.

Al’s passion for politics and support of Democrats was well known in the Grand Valley. His Letters to the Editor often led to supportive comments from like-minded politicos and at the same time often drew the ire from across the political aisle. Although many disagreed with Al’s politics the conversations were always courteous and respectful. Al was a lifelong learner and spent his free time studying history and languages. He was self–taught and fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German. He would gladly speak to any stranger in their native tongue.

Al is survived by his wife, Emeline; six sons, Rick, Bob, Larry (Audrey), Mike (Tracy), Joe, and Tom (Teri); 11 grandchildren Brie, Matt, Ashton, Luke, Nick, Emma, Sam, Maria, Drew, Trey, Tycen and seven great-grandchildren. Al is also survived by brothers, Amos (Sophie) and John (Marie) LeFebre of Pueblo, CO.; sisters, Mary (Charlie) Gallegos of Monte Vista, CO and Marina Gallery of Pueblo, CO.

The LeFebre family would like to thank all the good people at the Veteran’s Administration and at Hope West for their outstanding care and compassion.

A visitation is scheduled from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. with a rosary to immediately follow on Wednesday, July 6th at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary. A service will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Thursday, July 7th at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Hope West or the Latin Anglo Alliance scholarship fund.