Maine labor, legislative leader dies at 80

FARMINGDALE – Emilien Levesque, 80, a war hero, Maine legislative and labor leader, died on Thursday in Waterville.

Levesque served during World War II as a staff sergeant heavy machine gunner, and was a prisoner of war in Germany. He received a Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Victory Metal ribbon with several stars and a Bronze Star.

He served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1961 to 1970 and was House minority and House majority leader. He served as director of the Bureau of Civil Defense, commissioner of the Maine Employment Security Commission, coordinator of Canadian Affairs, and director of the Bureau of Veterans Services for the State of Maine.

Levesque lived in Madawaska and worked for Fraser Paper as a machinist and member of management for 20 years. He was a labor union leader and past president of Local 365, International Brotherhood of Pulp Sulfite and Paper Mill Workers Union, past president of the Maine District Council of Pulp and Paper Mill Union, an executive board member of the Maine State Federated Labor Council, and member of the Maine Safety Council.

In his later years Levesque was afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.