Floyd Lemere

Minot

Floyd Henry Lemere II was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 7th, 1946 to Floyd and Mildred Lemere. He graduated from Ayer Shirley High School in Shirley, Massachusetts in 1964. After high school, he joined the Air Force and was stationed at Minot Air Force Base. It was here that he met the love of his life; Mary Gourneau. The first time he saw her he said, “I’m going to marry that girl.” They were married on May 12, 1965. They welcomed 4 sons to their marriage: Howard, Michael, Floyd, and Daniel.

After getting married, they moved back to Massachusetts for a short time. As he put it, “there were too many people,” so the family moved back to the Minot area. He graduated with a business degree from Minot State University in 1973. Floyd joined the police force. Initially he worked for the Ward County Sheriff’s Department, then moved to Surrey where he was the chief of police for 6 years. He retired from police work and bought a home in the country northwest of Minot. It was here that the family opened a boarding kennel, Sterling Kennels, in 1984. It has been family owned and operated ever since.

His love for dogs led him into dog sledding. He was a founding member of the North Dakota Sled Dog association. He enjoyed running his huskies in races and along trails in the winter with friends.

He had a deep passion for fishing and camping. It was not uncommon to find the family around Buffalo Lodge during the summers. After they bought a camper, Mary and Floyd frequented their favorite camping spot on east Audubon.

He loved working in his yard. Over the years, he filled their six-acre home with shrubs, plants and trees of all kinds. Overall, he planted over 80 trees in the area around their home.

He passed away at home surrounded by his family on August 8, 2023.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and sons, Howard (Ashley) Lemere Williston, Michael Lemere Minot, Floyd (Charity) Lemere Surrey, and Daniel (Nikki) Lemere Sawyer. He was blessed with 18 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren with 2 more on the way. He is also survived by his sisters Lisa Lemere and Linda Wright.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Rhonda Harney.

There will be a celebration of life at the family home on August 19th at 1 p.m. where memories, a meal, and laughs will be shared.

Published by The Minot Daily News, Aug. 16, 2023.