Evelyn Ledoux

Evelyn LeDoux (formerly Evelyn Tonnes) died peacefully at home in Middletown on September 1, 2016. She was born on August 24, 1919 in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was the daughter of Louis P. LeDoux and Nellie Gaylock LeDoux and the stepdaughter of Lillian Crowell LeDoux. She was the wife of the late Ernest R. Tonnes for 30 years and of the late John F. Gilmore for 5 years.She was an honors graduate of the Rogers High School class of 1937 and an honors graduate of the former Newport Secretarial School. In 1974 she completed the Library Certification Program at Bristol Community College.When in the 4th grade at Coggeshall School, she was designated Best 4th Grade Speller in Newport.Ms. LeDoux survived the Hurricane of '38, at which time she had to be rescued from her work office near the bay on Thames Street due to rising flood waters.Prior to World War II she was a temporary secretary to Sen. Claiborne Pell's stepfather, CDR Hugo Koehler, at Eastover in Portsmouth and secretary to the late Barbara Norman Jones Cook ("Kitty Mouse"). During WW II, she worked at the Disbursing Office at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Newport where she had the pleasure to meet the PT boat commander (John D. Bulkeley) who evacuated Gen. MacArthur, "Dug Out Doug," from the Philippines to Australia after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was also employed as an insurance secretary for Gustave J.S. White Insurance and Real Estate in the 1940's.From 1950 until 1965 she was the partner of the late Majorie C. Dawley in ownership of Fabric House, a retail fabric shop in Newport and Middletown. From 1965 until 2010 she worked at the Middletown Public Library where, in 2009, a room was dedicated in her honor by the town and the library. Twice during her tenure there she acted as interim director.Ms. LeDoux was a member of the steering committee which formed the Middletown Historical Society in 1976. She was Program Chairman of the society for 30 years and in that capacity planned and oversaw numerous public events and speaker presentations.She was a Girl Scout Troop Leader and served on various Parent Teacher Association boards. She was a volunteer hostess for International Visitors and a volunteer docent at Green Animals in Portsmouth and a Newport Music Festival volunteer.She was a lifetime charter member of the Middletown Historical Society, and a member of the Friends of Middletown Public Library. She also had long-standing memberships with: the Newport County Preservation Society, AARP, National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and the Rogers High School Alumni Association.She was predeceased by her siblings: Philip LeDoux of Middletown, Marie Ennis of Portsmouth, and Lillian Schwartz of Omaha, Nebraska. She is survived by her three daughters: Diane McNamara and her husband, Dennis, of Middletown; Kathryn Poremski and her husband, Mark, of Portsmouth; and Deborah Tonnes of Cranston. She leaves four grand daughters, one great grand daughter and several nieces and nephews.Donations in her memory may be made to the Middletown Historical Society at P.O. Box 4196, Middletown, RI 02842-0496.Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday September 6, 2016, from 9:00 to 11:00A.M., at the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, RI, followed by a funeral service at 11:00A.M., in the funeral home. Her burial will follow in St. Columba's Cemetery, Brown's Lane, Middletown. Cemetery Details St. Columba Catholic Cemetery Chapel Brown's Lane Middletown, RI, Visitation SEP 6. 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM Memorial Funeral Home 375 Broadway Newport, RI, US, 02840 info@memorialfuneralhome.com http://www.memorialfuneralhome.com Service SEP 6. 11:00 AM Memorial Funeral Home 375 Broadway Newport, RI, US, 02840 info@memorialfuneralhome.com http://www.memorialfuneralhome.com