By Scott Mitchell Johnson, Staff Writer
ASHLAND — Jean Paul Levesque is being remembered as a visionary in the lumber industry who gave back to the community in countless ways. The founder of J. Paul Levesque and Sons in Ashland died July 8 at his Florida home. He was 82.
JEAN PAUL LEVESQUE, whose name is synonymous with Maine’s lumber industry, died July 8 at his Florida home. He was 82. The founder of J. Paul Levesque and Sons in Ashland, Levesque bought and operated his first lumber mill in Bloomfield, New Brunswick in 1966. A funeral Mass was held Monday in Ashland.
“Paul was a quiet individual, but well known throughout the community. He was a very, very knowledgeable person of the lumber industry and sawmill setup all the way from logging to lumbering,” said Mike Cote, human resource manager at Fraser Timber LLC, who was hired by Levesque in 1985. “What was unique about Paul was that he never had any engineering schooling, but when it came to developing sawmills, he was second-to-none.
“He was also extremely generous. Paul did a lot of things that were public, but he did a lot of things that people didn’t really know about including helping the needy at Christmastime. He was very generous with his money,” Cote said. “Paul also enjoyed sports. Early on he was into motorcycling and RVing. When I was the recreation director before I came here, he sponsored his own softball team and even played first base. He also sponsored a traveling hockey team, built the hockey rink and the warming huts, and he loved his golf.”
While Levesque’s presence could be intimidating, Cote said he was very pleasant.
“When you walked into his office there was a big desk and a big, burly man sitting there behind it and he had this one single chair in the front and that was called the ‘hot seat,’” said Cote. “He would get down to business, and then when it was all said and done, his personality would come out and he’d ask about your family or things like that, and you’d always leave with a good feeling in your heart.”
Mike Kelley Sr. of Washburn first met Levesque more than 25 years ago. He said what started as a banking relationship quickly evolved into a personal friendship.
“I always thought of Paul as a visionary and an icon in the lumber industry,” he said. “Paul always had the ability to look ahead a couple of years and see where prices, supplies and the markets were going. He was always well ahead of a lot of other folks in the industry in making adjustments. I learned a lot from him.”
Kelley said Levesque was always looking out for others.
“I was entertaining him at lunch a number of years ago in Ashland and I paid for the lunch and left what I thought was a reasonable tip. While we were walking over to pay for the lunch, I saw Paul turn around and go back to the table and take a look at what I had left and felt that it wasn’t quite enough for the young lady that was doing the job so he put another $5 down. That’s just the type of person that he was. He cared for everyone and it made me chuckle when I saw him do that. I thought, ‘Boy, he must think I’m a cheapskate.’”
Kelley said he will remember Levesque as a “very close friend” and a “solid confidant.”
“I received a lot of good advice from Paul. I will remember him as someone who did more for the communities in Aroostook County than he ever took credit for. He told me once that he didn’t ever want to be in the news. He was always below the radar screen and preferred it that way. What we knew that he did is far less than what he actually did. You couldn’t ask for a better person.”
Don Tardie, managing director of Maine Woods Co., said Levesque was a “man of character.”
“Paul was very straightforward and to the point. He was a man with great vision and was an outstanding leader. He had a tremendous passion for the business and the people around him, and had the biggest heart of any person I’ve ever known,” he said. “Paul was a tremendous competitor. Whether it was in sports or business, he had this burning desire to succeed. You could see it on his face and in his eyes that he was going to succeed. There were some rough and rocky roads along the way, but due to sheer determination, he got it done.
“His legacy is that he built a lumber mill empire on pure determination and desire to succeed, gut savvy and a heart bigger than most. He and his wife, Blanche, were very generous and that extended to the community, schools, Boy and Girl Scout programs, hospitals and others,” said Tardie. “What we didn’t read about was the generosity that went to families in need and giving young men a job after a run-in with the law. To me, his heart would shine the most when times were the toughest. He was an exceptional person who will be truly missed. I was extremely blessed to have been a small part of his life.”
Levesque is survived by his wife of 56 years, Blanche; four children: Dan, Michael, Alan and Sandra; seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. A funeral Mass was held Monday in Ashland.
