William Leveille William “Billy” David Leveille, 71, of Prineville, Oregon, passed away Wednesday, December 23, 2009.

He was born October 23, 1938, at the family home to Bridget (nee Wara) Gallagher and Amos Leveille of St. Ignace.

Mr. Leveille attended Ursaline Academy in St. Ignace until the eighth grade, and then attended LaSalle High School.

During his childhood, he worked selling candy on the docks in St. Ignace. He worked on the boats at the Straits of Mackinac. He began on the railroad car ferry Chief Wawatam.

After high school, Mr. Leveille joined the Coast Guard, where he retired as Bosun-mate First Class after 20 years of service. While in the Coast Guard, he was stationed at Sault Ste. Marie. He was also assigned to Eniwetok (now spelled Enewtak) Island in the 1960s. He was on the Coast Guard icebreaker Westwind that assisted the SS Manhattan on the first commercial ship crossing of the Northwest Passage in 1969. The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. While stationed on the Bering Sea, his ship ran supplies to Point Barrow for oil exploration well ahead of the pipeline and roads going there.

After retiring from the Coast Guard, Mr. Leveille worked for the County of Bend, Oregon, as a storekeeper and retired from there after 20 years of service.

He married Carol Jones of St. Ignace in 1956. They had five children, David, Joseph, Tina, Mark, and Gene.

He married Patricia Fima August 23, 1972.

Mr. Leveille loved camping, fishing, and hunting. He enjoyed panning for gold with Patricia in Oregon. He liked to laugh and was a master prankster, friends recalled, and said his most daring exploit was trying to roll over a 36- foot double ender Coast Guard boat. He always said his hero was his father. Mr. Leveille was a man of faith and was devoted to his family and friends.

He is survived by his children; six grandchildren; two brothers and their families, Louis and Patricia Leveille of St. Ignace, and Hugh and Mary Leveille of Huntley, Illinois.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Mary Brockway, and a brother, Robert “Bob” Leveille.

His body has been donated to the Oregon Institute for Research. Burial will be at Gros Cap cemetery with his parents.