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~ Francis Victor Burque Born - April 14, 1909 Died - November 28, 1980 Lifetime Achievement Award Presented July 23, 1997 t Francis Burque was born April 14, 1909 to Joseph and Lenore Burque. They and his eleven brothers and sisters lived on the family farm which is located between Centerville Road and 20th Avenue on Birch Street to the south. The original farm house is still standing on that site. Francis Burque married his wife Audrey Annabelle Kleidon on September 12, 1934. Francis would never tell his wife Audrey how far he went in school. He would only say that he went as far as the second floor of Centerville school. The Burques lived above what was at the time referred to as Jos. O. Peltier's tavern. Francis rented the half of the building with the bar from Mrs. Peltier and opened Burque's Bar. When Mrs. Peltier died, Francis purchased the entire building. The Burques rented the apartment above LaMotte's General Store until they purchased the property across the street and built their home. The Burques raised four children --- Joan, Francis, Ronald and Mary. Francis felt there would never be any other place he and his wife would rather live and raise their family other than Centerville. Audrey still lives in the family home today. Through his entire life Francis was involved in his community. He first served as mayor when he was in his twenties and served in this position and others in city government until he died in 1980. He last served as mayor at the age of 71 when he was appointed by the city council due to the resignation of Walter Pracher. All total, Francis served twenty years as mayor. Francis can also be credited with being a part of the formal organization of the fire department for Centerville. He and others were instrumental in purchasing our first fue truck. The fire truck replaced the old chemical tank unit that had to be pulled by horse or man power. Francis set his goals towards a fire truck after ruining a suit while helping to put out a fire at Cecil LaMotte's home on a Sunday morning after being called away during mass.