Rene (Bob) Arthur Hemond of Mesa, Arizona, passed away on March 19, 2019. He was born on March 26, 1926 in Central Falls, Rhode Island. The third of six children to Joseph P. Hemond and Luciana Levesque, he attended Catholic grade school in Central Falls. In 1944, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy. He completed his training at the US Naval Training Station in Sampson, New York. By way of Pennsylvania he went on the USS Alaska, a battle cruiser, which deployed to the Pacific during the war. The USS Alaska landed them in Tsing Tao, CHINA where they waited for the invasion of JAPAN. It was here in Tsing Tao where Rene became enamored with ballroom dancing. Rene discharged from the United States Navy in 1946, after the war, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut where he began employment with the Colt Manufacturing Company. In 1953 he married Lorraine Frasier. Over the next several years Rene and Lorraine had three sons - Jeffrey, Brian and Gregory. For a while he worked as a Manager for the Naval Submarine Base Laundry in Groton Connecticut before starting his own Dry Cleaning Business in Colchester Connecticut called Rene’s Dry Cleaning, in 1964. In 1974 Rene and Lorraine divorced over irreconcilable differences and Rene traveled to San Francisco, California and after a year there he started a trek East landing himself in Omaha, Nebraska. It was in Omaha that Rene re-discovered his love of dancing. He could dance with the best of them. Whether Waltz, Swing or Foxtrot Rene danced as a form of exercise that kept him in shape for a lifetime. In 1980 he met Darlene Jeffrey who became his companion. When they retired in 1988 they moved to Apache Junction, Arizona where they lived until her death in 2006. After her passing Rene moved to Mesa, Arizona and unfortunately in 2007 his house caught fire and burned to the ground where he lost everything. Despite this tragedy Rene Hemond kept his sense of humor, his motivation to work and his love for dance. As a matter of fact it was in 2011 that Rene met Danielle while dancing. They became companions and traveled across the United States and Europe. Together they settled in Arizona in 2014, and that same year Rene traveled to Washington D.C. as part of Honor Flight for WWII Veterans. As part of the Greatest Generation, Rene received a wonderful complement from the program. When he arrived for the flight, volunteers thought he was another volunteer because they couldn’t believe his shape, health and looks. His story is recorded in the Library of Congress book entitled Since You Asked™ 2018 Phoenix Edition I by the Veterans Heritage Project. Rene A. Hemond will be remembered as a handsome, charming, debonair gentlemen with an amazing sense of humor. A Funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 10:30 am located at All Saints Catholic Church 1534 N. Recker Rd, Mesa, AZ 85205. Donations in his honor can be made to any Veteran Service Organization.
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