Bertrand R. Bourgault

30, 2020. He spread joy to those around him for 92 years.

He was born to Gaudias and Justine Bourgault on February 27, 1928, in Lewiston, Maine. He

was one of 13 children, four of whom survived past childhood. Bertrand was raised near the

Canadian border and spoke fluent French until he attended seminary in Sherbrooke, Quebec to

become a priest. However, after meeting his older brother Donat’s wife, he decided he would

rather become a husband and father than a priest.

When he joined the Army Air Force (later the U.S. Air Force) in 1945 at the age of 17, he was

given the nickname Frenchie because his sergeant couldn’t pronounce his name. He served in

Italy and Germany in the post-WWII occupation forces. He was also assigned to Japan and

then Korea when the conflict broke out between the North and South. He often recalled “a very

quick retreat when the Chinese forces appeared in the thousands over the hill,” also known as

the Chinese Spring Offensive.

After his time in Korea, Frenchie was stationed in England where he met Mary Jessop--the love

of his life. As fate would have it, he was trying to place a call to his general and he kept crossing

lines with Mary, a Lance Corporal in the British Royal Army Corps, on the switchboard. She

became frustrated with his errors but he liked her spirit, persevered, and asked if he could write

to her. After exchanging letters and phone calls for two months, they finally met in person at the

base of Paddington Station where she was dressed all in yellow, including her beret. He was

smitten immediately and he soon “told” her they would be married. They moved the wedding up

three times, finally getting married on February 26, 1955. They had their first child, Steven, 15

months later. They eventually had three more children: Gregory, David and Michelle. The family

moved frequently around England and the United States due to Frenchie’s military service, and

eventually settled in Colorado Springs after Frenchie served over 20 years in the Air Force. The

Bourgault family was well-known around the neighborhood for their humor, slightly mischievous

hijinks, and most of all their love.

After retiring from the Air Force as a highly-decorated Tech Sergeant in 1966, Frenchie was

employed for 24 years at Hewlett-Packard, eventually working as a security manager at the

Garden of the Gods facility. He truly loved this job, because he was able to stroll around the

facility doing his favorite things – walking, talking to people, and making friends. He was

well-known around the company, and community, for his many years at HP.

Upon retiring from Hewlett-Packard in 1990, he continued to work around the house on projects

Mary came up with in the garden and restoring furniture she bought at garage sales. His work

was meticulous and spectacular. He was an avid fan of the Denver Broncos and Colorado

Avalanche and loved spending afternoons and evenings watching games. Frenchie and Mary

cherished spending time with their eight grandchildren, enjoying Frenchie’s famous spaghetti,

family barbecues in the garden and high-stakes, elaborate water balloon fights punctuated by

breaks for cream sodas and frozen Snickers.

Frenchie leaves behind a legacy of kindness to all. He had a truly gentle and welcoming spirit

which will be remembered for years to come, in addition to his sharp (and, admittedly,

occasionally corny) sense of humor. At his daughter’s graduation from medical school, he was

asked what his own ambitions were. His answer was that he had two goals: to be a good

husband to “a woman that would have me” and a great father to his children. Simply put, he

succeeded in both.

Frenchie will live on in the hearts and memories of his four children: Steve (Dee Ann) Bourgault

of Fort Collins, Greg Bourgault of Lehighton, PA, David (Sondra) Bourgault of Colorado Springs,

and Michelle (Angelica) Bourgault of San Francisco, CA. He is also survived by eight

grandchildren: Megan (Andrew) McFadden, Kara (Chris) Billingsley, David Bourgault, Aubrey

Bourgault, Gaby Bourgault, Maddy Bourgault, Nick Bourgault, Sarah Thornburg, and two

great-grandsons, Asher and Stellan McFadden. He will be remembered as a loving and kind

man by neighbors and hundreds of friends.

Services are pending. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to St. Jude

Children’s Research Hospital.