David Lemoine

David M. Lemoine, 69, of Syracuse, Nebraska, died on December 28, 2020, surrounded by his family at Bryan East Hospital in Lincoln, after a fierce battle with Covid-19.  Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 5, 2021, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Cottonport, Louisiana from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Funeral mass will immediately follow at St. Mary’s at 1 p.m. All CDC guidelines will be followed for the Mass regarding social distancing. Masks will be required. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed via Zoom at meeting ID 71460959447, password DAVIDL.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to a fund established to assist interpreters and their families coming to the United States after service to the U.S. military. https://gofund.me/4bcd818f

David was born on February 1, 1951, in Cottonport, Louisiana, the son of Clyston and Rosemary Lemoine. He graduated from Cottonport High School in 1969. He attended Northeast Louisiana University, where he graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1973.  He married Carla Thevenot, the love of his life, in 1975, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

David worked as a farmer until 1985, when he and his wife and children moved to California, where he worked first as a correctional officer and then as a U.S. Marshall.  In 1987, the family moved to Houston, Texas, where David began his illustrious career as a Special Agent with the FBI. His efforts over the next ten years resulted in some of the largest drug seizures in history and helped to bring down numerous drug cartel leaders.  Always being up for an adventure, he moved his family to Montana in 1998, where he fell in love with the beauty of the mountains and made a home in Red Lodge.  His career in Montana focused mainly on putting an end to human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls through prostitution.  He was instrumental in passing legislation in both Montana and Nebraska to increase penalties for sex trafficking.

He retired in 2005, after 20 years of loyal service to the Federal government, but not being a man to sit idle, he found his way to Afghanistan.  At the age of 57, he went to work as a human intelligence specialist for the state department, patrolling with the men of his platoon with a smile on his face, filling their days with his famous stories, in some of the harshest terrain imaginable. Upon his return home, he spent the last decade of his life advocating for Afghan and Iraqi combat interpreters to be given sanctuary visas and a safe home in America.

David never met a stranger.  He befriended anyone he met, from any background and any walk of life.  He loved his wife, kids, and grandkids more than anything in this world.  He spent the last years of his life on his acreage in Syracuse, Nebraska, where he passed his days hunting, fishing, and riding horses with his grandkids.  His entire life was spent in the service of others. He made sure he always had a mission, and he completed every mission with passion and love.  David impacted the lives of people all over the world, and his loss will be felt deeply by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

David is survived by his wife Carla, of Syracuse, Nebraska, his 5 children and spouses, Rachael Lemoine of Syracuse, Catherine and Aaron Luth of Omaha, Leah and Trent Noyes of Denver, Laura Lemoine and fiancé Joshua Baumann of Omaha, and Joseph Lemoine of Lincoln; 8 grandchildren, Vivienne, Margot, Charles, Simon, and Vincent Luth, and Reagan, Max, and Maggie Noyes; siblings and spouses, Roseanne Juneau, Ethel and Ben Juneau, Liz Shoemaker, Tina Lemoine, Martha Lemoine, and Peter and Peggy Lemoine.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyston and Rosemary Lemoine, and his sister Marilyn Bordelon.