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Page 94, Fire News, May 2022 Obituary

Fire News Founder, Novelist, Drama Critic, Jeb Ladouceur, Sr.

Jeb Ladouceur, Sr., a 60-year resident of Smithtown, died on March 26, 2022. He was 89.

Founder of The Fire News in 1973, and still carried on the rolls as the iconic publication’s Publisher Emeritus, Mr. Ladouceur is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth, sons Jeb, Jr., Will, and Andrew, as well as daughters Meg Longpré and Carolyn Purcaro. He also leaves behind 14 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Born in Buckingham, Quebec, Canada in 1933, Ladouceur emigrated to Long Island with his parents and sister, Bette Ann in 1944. He graduated from Riverhead High School in 1951 and immediately enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, where he served with distinction in this country and North Africa. It was during his term in the military that Mr. Ladouceur became a naturalized American citizen, an event he always defined as the greatest privilege of his life.

Jeb was honorably discharged from the USAF, enrolled in St. John’s University, married his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth White in 1957, and graduated from SJU with honors in 1959. In the half-dozen years that followed, Mr. Ladouceur engaged in a number of advertising-related jobs, before settling for good in their adopted Smithtown. There, the Ladouceurs raised their close-knit family and where Jeb and Elizabeth would spend the next 55 years.

Ladouceur’s 1973 launching of The Fire News proved eminently successful. The publication promptly became both an accepted communications vehicle for Long Island’s 20,000 fire and rescue volunteers, and an acknowledged effective conduit between the newspaper’s several advertisers and the fire and rescue service. Mr. Ladouceur retired from active leadership of the groundbreaking publication when The Fire News was sold in 2000.

Printer’s ink continued to course through Jeb Ladouceur’s veins, and in the first 12 years of his retirement he penned no fewer than a dozen novels in the thriller and mystery genres. All were well received, according to the author’s longtime publicist, Debbie Lange Fifer of Kings Park, and some won awards for excellence. Long an aficionado of legitimate theater, Mr. Ladouceur turned his pen to drama criticism in 2010. He was syndicated with a number of Long Island weeklys and online publications, and producers soon joined area editors, along with readers, in referring to his reviews as among the finest examples of literary evaluation in print.

Ladouceur once served as president of the Landing Civic Association, chaired the Fundraising Committee for Smithtown’s Tercentenary celebration, and was appointed to the NYState Arson Task Force by former Governor Mario Cuomo. He was a charter member of the Long Island Author’s Circle, an organization he and five other area writers founded in 2015.

Cremation was private, and interment with military honors was at Calverton National Cemetery. - Fire News photo provided

Obituaries

The Commack Fire Department mourned the loss of ex-Chief Fred Meuser who passed away January 10, 2022, at the age of 91.

Meuser joined the department in 1960 and was a Charter Member of Company Three. He went on to become Lieutenant from 19721975, Captain from 1976-1977, and was elected Assistant Chief from 1978-1981. From 1982-1983, Meuser served as Chief of the Department.

Meuser was affectionately known around the firehouse by the nickname ‘Mousey,’which he received after battling a fire early in his career at a potato barn. After opening the barn door, mice came running out and the rest, as they say, is history.

Chief Meuser loved the Commack Fire Department and the members loved him. He proudly displayed Commack logos and patches throughout his living quarters. He slept under a Commack FD blanket in his bed, and even put the department patch on his prosthetic leg.

He was a Chief 40 years ago when many senior members entered the department as young men, and set the tone for what the department would become.

Even as recently as a few years ago, Meuser addressed the department from his wheelchair at their annual installation dinner with a message of pride and the continued desire to motivate his men. He often spoke with great joy and satisfaction of his greatest accomplishment, his beloved family that he and his wife built during their 65 years of marriage.

Chief Mousey loved to attend the parades and picnics. He had a fondness for the antique 1921 Ford Model Tfire engine, which he described as, “The only thing around here older then I am.”

Meuser is survived by his loving wife

Commack’s Fred Meuser

Ethel, sons Rick and Dave, daughter-in-law Cathy and granddaughters Caitlin and Christi, and brothers Kenneth and Robert.

Viewing and services were held at Commack Abbey with internment at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale. - Fire News story and photos by Steve Silverman and Commack FD

Dix Hills’Joseph DeMonte

The Dix Hills Fire Department mourned the loss of ex-Chief Joseph ‘Joe’DeMonte, 84, who passed away on January 12, 2022.

Joe joined the department in 1977 and was assigned to Company 3 at Station 1. He served as Lieutenant and Captain of the Rescue Squad and Company 3. Joe was elected to the Chief's office in 1990, and became Chief of the Department in 1995-1996.

Joe was born in 1937 in the Bronx, the eldest son of Italian immigrants. He was a licensed master plumber and worked as a superintendent for the largest construction company in the world, building skyscrapers in New York City, as well as the community of Roosevelt Island.

He was also a founding member and director of the Long Island Patriots Marching Band, which became National Champions under his leadership.

Joe was an avid car lover and during his life, he owned over 75 classic cars and hot rods, a selection which would make even the largest of car enthusiasts take notice.

DeMonte was predeceased by his loving wife Rose, and son Joseph III. He is survived by his children and spouses, Bob (Penny), Dan (Frances), Donna (Billy), Denise (Bob), Anthony (Lisa), Darlene (John), and his brother Dan (Kathy). He also leaves 25 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Visitation was held at Alexander-Rothwell Funeral Home with Memorial Mass at St. John the Baptist Church in Wading River. - Fire News story and photos by Steve Silverman

MOTLEY CREWS OF THE MONTH

Firefighters from Republic Airport Crash Fire Rescue. - Fire News photo by Bryan Lopez Holtsville Fire Department Fire Police. - Fire News photo by Ron Monteleone

Manorville Fire Department Fire Police. - Fire News photo by Ron Monteleone

Members of the Farmingdale Fire Department on a mutual aid assignment to a Bethpage house fire on the night of March 11, 2022. - Fire News photo by K2MPhotography.com