RAYMOND DEMARAIS obituary

MALTA Raymond Joseph Demarais, 69, of Malta died Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007. He was an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in Belcourt, N.D.

The funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Adams Memorial Chapel in Malta. Visitation will be Monday at 6 p. m. at the Adams Memorial Chapel. Burial will be in the Malta Cemetery. Raymond was born in Malta on Feb. 11, 1936, to Joseph and Philomene (McGillis) Demarais. Raymond went to school in Malta, then attended Indian boarding schools in Wahpeton, N. D., Pierre, S.D., and Flandreau, S.D. He graduated from high school in Browning. Raymond lived his young life as a cowboy and traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada with his rodeo friends. He had endless stories about their adventures that could keep people entertained for hours. After a crippling injury to his hip ended his rodeo and cowboy career, he pursued an education in the medical field. He went to X-ray school at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and continued to earn certifications in various medical specialties. He was a certified ultrasound technician, a certified operating room technician and a physician's assistant in orthopedics. He worked for orthopedic surgeons in the Dallas area for many years before going to work for the Indian Health Service. He worked on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, the Fort Belknap Reservation in Harlem, the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in Belcourt, N.D., the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning and the Navajo Reservation in Tuba City, Ariz. He lived his life to the fullest until 1987, when he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. After his conversion, Raymond was called to lead Indian Time Ministries. Raymond preached and sang at the Tri-Cities Union Gospel Mission in Pasco, Wash., for many years. He once lived the life that the people at the mission face and he was able to relate and form relationships there. In 1991, Raymond became a member of the Richland Apostolic Christian Church. Raymond was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Philomene; brothers, Lyman and Manley Trottier and Eddy Demarais; and sisters, Margie Whiteford and Bernice Smart. Survivors include his wife, Jessie, of Richland, Wash.; children, Jade D. Demarais of Whitefish, Edward Jesse Glaze of East Glacier, Dean, Jennifer and Adam Demarais of Dallas, Texas, Raymond (CreeBaby) Demarais of Browning and Darla Johnson of Dodson; sister, Doris Henry of Malta; brothers, Pete Demarais of Great Falls and Wayne Demarais of Spokane, Wash.; his grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. Adams Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.