Theodore "Ted" Edward Demarais

Lilah Crowe2021-03-08T14:49:49-06:00

Name: Theodore "Ted" Edward Demarais
Location of Birth: Bovey, Minnesota
Date of Birth: October 19, 1923
Date of Death: May 24, 2002
Parents: Leo Demarais & Anna (Kent) Demarais
High School and Class: 1941 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
College:
Highest Rank: CPL (Corporal)
Branch: Army
Other Branch:
Date Sworn In: February 22, 1943
Place Sworn In:
Date of Discharge: January 23, 1946
Place of Discharge:
Military Awards:

Military Highlights:
WW II Draft Registration Cards – 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947
State: Minnesota
Name: Theodore Edward Demarais
Race: White
Age: 18
Birth Date: October 19, 1923
Birth Place: Bovey, Minnesota, USA
Residence Place: LaPrairie Township, Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Registration Date: June 30, 1942
Employer: Pickens [sic] Mather Mining Co., Bovey, Minnesota
Weight: 140
Height: 5-5
Complexion: Ruddy
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Next of Kin: Leo Demarais, R. 2, Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota – April 2, 1943 – “Dear Friends: This is my first opportunity to write and thank a fine organization for receiving the Bovey Press every week. The Service Men’s Club is a great help in making our time in the service as pleasant as possible. I hope that every fellow in service is able to receive news from home as regular and up-to-date as the Press provides us with. That diary I received has proven to be a great comfort in what little spare time I have. It’ll be filled to the brim with memories of my days in the service. There are some days that I’m too busy to write in it, but on my week ends I catch up. If Johnny Lerohl happens to be reading this, I’d like to say hello and please be patient. I’ll write to you soon. You know that a Private’s life is a busy one in his first weeks of training. I am supposed to receive 4 weeks basic and 9 weeks working school. So far, I’ve had one week basic, the rest of the time I’ve spent in the hospital. I got a touch of food poisoning the other day and now I have the mumps. So, by the looks of things, I’ll be laid up for a couple of weeks yet. Well, there are rules and regulations that a fellow has to obey. One being the rule of lights out. So I must close for now. I’ll write again and let you know how things are going. Again, thanks for the Press and the diary. One of the buddies, Private T. (Ted) E. Demarais.”

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota – June 4, 1943 – “Camp Roberts, Calif., May 3, 1943. Dear Mr. Clem: I was very surprised when the mail man left that card that you sent to me. It was very thoughtful of you and I appreciated hearing from you. Well today concludes my 9th week of training. On June 12th I will graduate from cooking school here and if I succeed in passing my examinations, I will be a corporal. Cooking is something I’ve always liked. My first experience in scouting when I was only a cub was cooking. I liked it and have decided to stick with it. With what experience I have had in meat cutting, I have earned the title of head meat cutter in our mess hall. I cut all the meat for the meals. It really would make your mouth water to see the extra fine meat that the army has. Yesterday I cut and fried pork chops for 250 men. It took me 4 hours but I was pleased to see everyone of them eaten and not a one in the garbage pail. That is what a cook calls satisfaction. By this time you folks back there must be preparing for the first few days of fishing season. I sure wish I were there to catch some of those walleyed pike. Maybe next year at this time we will all be home and can rest well assured that we can stay there. The news today is very good. We in the service receive the actual facts. So in the near future lets pray that it will all end with our country victorious. Well, I must sign off as it is near meal time again and I do love to eat (as you would notice if you saw how fat I am). Well army cooks usually are fat anyway, so it’s not unusual. I will try and write again and in the meantime please drop a line again. Yours truly, Pvt. T. E. Demarais. P.S. I hope that when I write again I can put Cpl instead of private in front of my name.”

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - June 25, 1943 – “Camp Roberts, Calif., June 6, 1943. Dear Friends: It’s been a little while since I wrote the folks back there, but now I am about to graduate and leave this camp I think I should write. I have been receiving the Press regularly every week. The news is always nice to read and I enjoy reading Ann’s letters every week. It seems that all the home town fellows are going good work in the service. Milan Dimich is a Sgt. now and so it Eddie Olson. I am only 45 miles from Eddie’s camp, but I haven’t had the opportunity to see him. This coming Saturday (June 12th) I graduate as a cook from U.S. Quartermasters Cooks and Bakers school here. I will be shipped out shortly after that. I haven’t heard from John Lerohl lately but I suppose he is busy. When I get to my new location I will write them. Well, I can’t hog all the space as some other soldier may want to write a letter in the paper also. Please don’t send any papers to this address until I notify you of my new location. Hope everything is the same in the old home town. I’ll be back there later on this summer to catch a few fish, so until later – so long. Yours truly, Ted Demarais.”

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota – October 1, 1943 – “Somewhere in Australia, August 28, 1943. Dear Friends: I am sorry that I haven’t dropped a line to the Press for so long, but these are busy days you know. Since I last wrote to you, I have traveled quite some distance. Of all the places I have been in, I’ll still prefer Minnesota. It is spring here now, but that does not mean anything. All I know is it’s darn close to Farmers’ Day, and I’m not there. It’s going to seem funny not to be playing in the band like I used to, but I hope to be back by next year. I look forward to getting the Press, but as yet I haven’t gotten any since I left the states. It takes a while I know, but the news from home is still appreciated over here. I am getting along fine here and like my job as meat cutter a lot. Time is short so I’ll have to close now. Here’s hoping that things have not changed too much in the old home town. Best regards to everyone and I hope that the Farmers’ Day celebration was a success as it always was. Yours truly, Ted Demarais.”

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - February 4, 1944 - "Somewhere in New Guinea, December 22, 1943. Dear Friends: I was very pleased to receive your most welcome Christmas card along with the subscription for the Readers Digest. It goes to prove that the folks back there are really doing their bit to help us over here. No matter how tired or down in the dumps one feels after a hard days work, it's always a pleasure to pick up the home town paper and just read yourself to sleep at night. The Readers Digest has always been my favorite reading material and I am very thankful for this very thoughtful gift. I also wish to thank Ann for her nice cheerful card. You folks back there deserve a commendation on your fine work. Let's hope and pray that we may all be together soon. We certainly will be deserving a celebration after all the boys return. My time is short as I must get down to the club that I work in. I like my job and hope to see you all before many months. Again thanking you for your kindness in remembering us all on Christmas, I remain, another home town soldier who hopes all his buddies are being treated as swell. Yours truly, Ted Demarais."

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - February 26, 1944 – Somewhere in Australia – “Dear Friends: Moving about from place to place seems to be getting me behind with my letters. But after having received the Press so regularly, I can’t help but sit down and write a few lines to you folks back there. I started the New Year off by going to the hospital. I’ve been in three different ones so far and don’t have any idea what to expect next. Seems like my being from the north, where it is nice and cold, has something to do with me being in the hospital with skin trouble. I’m hoping to be sent back to a cold climate, preferably anywhere in the states. But there’s only a possibility, at any rate I don’t believe I’ll ever go back to the tropics. In the very near future I look forward to seeing Roger Enstrom. We are not very far away as we both have the same APO. It would be swell to see someone from the old home town again. I never did get to see Neil LaRock, but still have hopes. I see my time is short, so before I close, I want to say “hello” to all my pals there, and if John Lerohl happens to read this, I hope he’ll write to me. So long for now – hope to see you all soon. Yours truly, Ted Demarais."

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - June 16, 1944 - "Somewhere in Australia. May 6, 1944. Dear Lil and Ray: I just received your letter this morning along with one from Da. It was good to hear from you again. Yesterday I heard from Wes and I answered him right away. Once a person gets behind in letter writing it certainly takes awhile to get caught up again. I only owe about six letters at the present time, so I had better get busy and write a few. The first of the week I went to town, a thirty-six hour pass. I had a swell time, as it was my first pass in almost eight months. My friends and I went horseback riding along a mountain trail and boy, was I ever stiff the next day. We got filled up on refreshments and took in a carnival. The next morning my mouth tasted like some one had mistaken it for something. I recovered and don't care to go on pass for awhile now. It's beginning to get real cold here now. They had better issue me some "long johns" or else ship me to a warmer climate. My feet are somewhat better, but they don't like to be surrounded by G. I. shoes. My feel always did sweat a lot, that is probably why they don't heal completely. With four solid months in the hospital, I am ready for most anything right now. I developed such a "second-front" that it's pitiful. My trousers are rather tight for me as I weigh around one sixty-five, whereas I only weighed one forty-five when I entered the service. So you see Uncle Sam is feeding me alright. I should really write a letter to the Service Club, thanking them for the stationery and envelopes I received not very long ago. They certainly are entitled to all the credit in the world for their splendid work. If you would, I want you to thank Mrs. Burkman, Viola Zobenica, Mrs. Connor, and all the others who have written to me since my absence from home. If I were to write to each and everyone it would take me quite some time. You know that I have quite a large correspondence list at any rate. In a couple weeks fishing season will be under way. I would certainly like to get home this summer so that I could make use of some of those wonderful pleasures that I left behind. Once I do get back though, I'm going to see to it that I make up for lost time. The ore season must be under way in full swing by this time. I was very glad to have my dad back in the store business once again. He is just as much out of place in the mines as a New Guinea native would be up in Minnesota. I believe that he can really get further ahead in business than if he were in any other capacity. Well, I see that I have scribbled for nearly a half hour now, so in order as to not neglect the others, I must close so as to get a few more letters written today. Goodbye for now, and here's wishing you both oodles of happiness and best of luck always. Tenderly yours, your nephew, Ted Demarais."

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - August 25, 1944 - "Somewhere in Australia, July 23, 1944. Dear Mr. Wagner: I hope that you have already received a host of answers to your well written letter that I know was received and enjoyed by all the members of the armed services who are fortunate in having a service club that is doing such a swell job. You have probably heard that I have been in the hospital for nearly seven months now. All the time I've been lying around I have received my copies of the Press and Reader's Digest regularly. It sure is a treat to read about all the news from home. Roger Enstrom and I are very fortunate in being so close to one another. Just the other day we spent the afternoon and evening together. It's more than a treat to know someone from home, especially a guy like Roger. We will be seeing each other often from now on. Well, this space is short so I'll close by saying thanks very much for your letter, and I hope that I'll be seeing you real soon. So long now and here's wishing my best regards to the Service Club and members. Yours truly, Teddy Demarais."

Wars Involved:
World War II

MIA / POW:

Civilian Life:
Ted Demarais married Edith Jutras in Itasca County, MN in 1945.

Ted died in Wyoming, Minnesota and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Forest Lake, Minnesota. He is survived by his wife, Edith, of 56 years; son Thomas (Nancy); three daughters, Carol (Jim) Smothers, Jacqueline (Stephen) Huth, and Donna (Charles) Wacker; sister Patricia Tessier; ten grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; four nieces; and three nephews.

Tribal Affiliation(s):