Earl J. Geoffrion, 95, passed away Monday, August 12, 2013 from congestive heart failure. Earl was born in Toledo, Ohio on April 16, 1918. Earl was working for the Pennsylvania Railroad when he entered military service shortly after Pearl Harbor. With his prior experience he was assigned to operate a supply locomotive in Egypt. He volunteered for the U.S. Army Paratroops and was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. He participated in the liberation of France, June 1944. He jumped into Normandy shortly after midnight before the main invasion force hit the beaches. After Earl'™s discharge from the military he returned to work as a locomotive engineer and retired with Conrail. Earl married his wife Tillie, March 2, 1946. They stayed happily married for 68 years. Earl has been honored over the years for his service. He was inducted into the Ann Arbor Hall of Heroes and was proud to be affiliated with the Liberty Jump Team. Earl was awarded the French Legion of Honor, Knight Chevalier Medal, the highest honor the French President can give to a soldier of another country. He was a member of St. Ignatius Church, and VFW Dunberger Post. He enjoyed fishing and golfing. Earl is survived by his wife, Matilda 'œTillie' (Lieto); daughter, Linda (Jeffrey) Lohner; and grandchildren, Jason (Rachel), James and John Lohner; two great-grandchildren; and sister, Lucille (Arthur) Ovall. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers, Charles, Leo, Robert and Adolph, and his sisters, Josephine, Marie, Jewel, Mabel, Irene and Helen. Visitation will be Thursday from 2 until 9 pm at Eggleston Meinert & Pavley Funeral Home Oregon Chapel, 440 S Coy Road, where a Rosary Service will be held at 6:00 p.m. Funeral Services will begin in the funeral home on Friday at 10:15 a.m. and proceed to St. Ignatius Catholic Church for Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Ignatius Cemetery. Those wishing to make an expression of sympathy in Earl'™s memory are asked to consider his family to be then divided among Earl'™s favorite charities.