Wilfred "Bill" Albert Dubois

Wilfred Albert “Bill” Dubois, 94, of Anchorage, Alaska, passed away peacefully on August 21, 2024 at Providence Alaska Medical Center, surrounded by his family.

Bill was a first-generation American, born on July 1, 1930 in Waltham, Vermont to Wilfrid and Marie Dubois. He was the second youngest of 12 children and spent his early years on the family farm. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Yvette, Alice, Theresa, and Agnes (Laurie), and brothers Raymond, Harvey, Armand, Leo, Homer, and two brothers named Arthur who died as children.

Bill met the love of his life, Cecile Juliette Jodoin, in December 1951. After a whirlwind romance, Bill and Cecile were married in Burlington, Vermont on May 3, 1952 and celebrated 72 joyous years together. Bill is survived by his beloved wife Cecile, their children John (Karen Kurtz), Susan (Michael Tyree), David (Debbie), and James, eight grandchildren (Richelle Dubois, Jeffrey Lamb, Stephanie Ameline, Nicole, Mitchell, and Robert Dubois, and Michael and Douglas Dubois), three great-grandchildren (Amelia and Liam Ameline and Aria Dubois), and many nieces, nephews, and close friends.

Bill enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1951 and proudly served his country until his retirement in 1975. Besides posts in Vermont, Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia, Bill’s service took him around the world – Okinawa during the Korean Conflict, Germany during the Cold War, and Thailand during the Vietnam War. The Air Force brought the Dubois family to Alaska in 1966, and 50+ years later most of the family still calls Anchorage home. A highpoint of Bill’s later life was participating in The Last Frontier Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in 2019 with his son David.

After his retirement from the Air Force, Bill worked in a variety of sales and management positions. When Bill and Cecile finally retired from work, they became snowbirds, for a time touring the country in a custom bus conversion before settling in San Antonio, Texas in the winters and Anchorage in the summers. Health issues forced Bill and Cecile to return to Anchorage permanently in 1997, where they built two houses before moving in 2011 to Chester Park Cooperative, a senior condominium community.

Bill will be warmly remembered as a wonderful gentleman with a great smile, a huge and hearty handshake, and a twinkle in his eye that hinted at his mischievous sense of humor. He was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, a successful hunter of deer in Vermont and moose in Alaska, and a bit of a speed demon – he loved driving cars and snowmachines with a lead foot and claimed he could stop on a dime and give you three and a half cents change. Bill endured long-term chronic pain with dignity and grace, and persevered through sheer force of will. Bill and Cecile shared a profound faith in the Lord and were founding members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Anchorage.

A Funeral Mass for Bill will be held on Friday, September 20, 2024 at St. Patrick’s Church, 2111 Muldoon Road, Anchorage, Alaska, with visitation at 3:30 p.m. and Mass at 4:00 p.m. Inurnment will immediately follow in the Cloister and Columbarium Cemetery at St. Patrick’s Church. Arrangements by the Cremation Society of Alaska www.alaskacremation.com.