Lucien Denis Retourne's Obituary
Lucien Denis Alphonse Retourne was born in Craon, France with the spirit of adventure in his soul. After finishing two years of high school and apprenticeship as an upholsterer, he left his parents' home, two brothers Jacques and Henri, and the butcher shop in which he had been raised. He took his first job in November of 1939, in Chinon, the farthest city from his hometown that had a job offering. He unknowingly started working for his future wife's uncle, Serge Suchaire. Fifteen-year-old Jeannine visited her favorite aunt and uncle nearly every week-end because they had just had their first baby and she was crazy about her new little cousin, Michele. Lucien and Jeannine met but in 1942 he was called to serve in Germany during WWII. In 1945 Lucien returned to his job in Chinon and he and Jeannine fell in love and married on July 23rd, 1946 in Tours, France, Jeannine's hometown.
Jeannine and Lucien had three children over the next fifteen and a half years. Jean-Luc was born on November 6, 1947 in Chinon, Jean-Jacques was born on January 3rd, 1950, in Chateau-Gontier and eleven years later, Laurence was born on June 24th 1961, in Morlaix in Brittany. Lucien was happy by the sea but the ocean beckoned him to move even further West and in December of 1962 the family of five boarded the USS United States for the second book in the life of Lucien Retourne and his family. After a long trip, including a frigid train ride from New York to Los Angeles, Lucien settled his family in Santa Monica, California. He loved the palm trees, the ocean and the balmy winds that blew in from the Pacific ocean during the day. Los Angeles was definitely the right place for him.
Over the course of the next thirty-eight years, Lucien and his wife Jeannine ran a world-class upholstery business in Beverly Hills, California with such prestigious clients as Elvis Presley, Tony Curtis, Gregory Peck, the Beatles, Anthony Quinn and many, many more. They recovered period sofas and chairs in the classical style with horse hair and brass nails using the finest silks and toiles de jouy from France among many other fabrics. Lucien loved to see new places and every week-end he would pack his family into the Econoline and discover a new corner of California. He bought land in the desert in Yucca Valley where the family enjoyed early sunrises, horseback riding and shooting rifles at cans. Life was sweet and a good time was had by all in those early years.
As the kids grew and gave Lucien grandchildren he became a doting grandfather, stopping what he was doing in his tracks to play or help build a crazy creation of wood, springs, nails and glue. He was never too busy to help drive one or the other grandchild to school or to a birthday party. Nothing made him more proud than to be a part of their lives and they loved their grandpa so very, very much. Eventually, Jean-Jacques and Laurence moved their families East. Jean-Luc, their eldest son, moved back to France in 1971. In 2000, Jeannine and Lucien closed up the workshop in Beverly Hills for good and moved to Prescott, Arizona where their best friends lived. They stayed there for six years but Lucien's health faltered and in 2006 they moved to Annapolis, Maryland to be near their family. Lucien passed peacefully away on Sunday, February 13th, 2011, surrounded by his son Jean-Jacques, his daughter-in-law Marie-Therese, his daughter Laurence and his wife Jeannine. May he now rest in peace.
What’s your fondest memory of Lucien?
What’s a lesson you learned from Lucien?
Share a story where Lucien's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Lucien you’ll never forget.
How did Lucien make you smile?