Arthur (Art) Lemay – April 13, 1950 – September 28, 2024

Arthur Louis Lemay, 74, of Piedmont, SD passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at Monument Health Rapid City Hospital.

Art was born to Armand R. and Blanche L. (Montembeault) Lemay on April 13, 1950, in Hartford, CT.   He grew up in the Hartford area, attending grammar school at St. Joseph Cathedral and graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1968.  After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army and served during the Vietnam War as an Air Traffic Controller.  Following his honorable discharge from the Army, he returned to Connecticut where he worked several years for the American Red Cross in the blood bank unit.

Feeling adventurous, he sold his belongings and decided to head to California with a friend on his 1976 BMW motorcycle; touring the Northern US and Southern Canada, he stopped in Kadoka, SD to visit his brother, Pierre (Pete) and family.   While in Kadoka, he met Bonnie Huber--He never did make it to California!   They were married the following summer on June 25, 1977….. and so, his life in South Dakota began.   They were later blessed with a son, Brian, and a daughter, Erin.   Art was employed with the U.S. Postal Service for over 31 years, retiring in 2015.

Art's greatest joy in life was spending time with his family.  Over the years, he spent many hours coaching Little League baseball, and also boys and girls youth basketball.   For a period, life revolved around sports; The family was very much a soccer family and spent considerable "windshield" time together traveling throughout the region, making life-long friendships along the way.    Happy times were also spent camping, fishing, and pheasant hunting.  In his later years, you could usually catch Art reading a good book or two (or three).  However, dearest to his heart was always spending time with his grandkids.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Bonnie Lemay; son, Brian (Mari) Lemay; daughter, Erin (Lance) Nemec; granddaughters, Lily and Mila Lemay; grandsons, Nolan and Gavin Nemec; sister, Lucille Davis; brother-in-law, Leslie Huber; sister-in-law, Sylvia Huber and numerous nieces and nephews.

Art was preceded in death by his parents, his brother and sister-in-law, Pete and Faye Lemay; brother-in-law, Jeff Davis; father and mother-in-law, Christ and Elma Huber, brothers-in-law Victor Huber and Jerry Huber and sister-in-law Geraldine Huber.

Memorial Service will be held on Monday, October 7, 2024 at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home in Rapid City, SD at 12:00 p.m. with visitation starting one hour prior to service.    Committal service with Military Honors will follow at Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD at 2:30 p.m.

The family wishes to thank friends and family for their outpouring of love and support during this difficult time.  We are truly blessed to have you in our lives.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the American Heart Association.

Arrangements with www.osheimschmidt.com