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 Francis Joseph LeBlanc
April 09, 2006
Francis Joseph LeBlanc, 75, of 203 Connecticut Ave. died Sunday at home after a 14-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.
Born in Somerville on June 2, 1931, son of Alfred and Stephania Szymanski LaBlanc, he moved to Pittsfield in 1935 and was a 1949 graduate of St. Joseph's High School, where he excelled in football, baseball and basketball.
A Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, he served with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Regiment, under the command of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. He fought in the battles of Inchon, Seoul and Chosin Reservoir and was shot twice, stabbed with a bayonet and struck by an enemy grenade during his military career. He received four Purple Hearts and many other awards and citations. He also served in Japan and in Washington, D.C.
Upon returning to the States, he was stationed in Washington, where he was chosen as one of the models for the statue of Iwo Jima.
Mr. LeBlanc was employed by Dodge Construction Co. for more than 30 years, retiring as superintendent of the telephone, cable and electric division in 1997. He also worked for Railway Express and GE and was a Pittsfield Police officer.
He was a communicant of St. Joseph's Church and a member and past exalted ruler of the Pittsfield Elks; past commandant of the Marine Corps League; past Veterans of Foreign Wars commander of Post 448 and District 9, and a state and national official; a member of the Pittsfield American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans representative at Leeds Veterans' Hospital and at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home.
He served twice as co-chairman of the Cerebral Palsy Telethon, was master of ceremonies for several Memorial Day parades in Pittsfield and hosted an annual dinner for families with handicapped children for many years.
A golfer, he won several tournaments.
He and his wife, the former Virginia Grace Kasuba, were married May 9, 1951. She died Jan. 24, 1995.
He leaves two sons, Donald F. LeBlanc of Pittsfield and Robert J. LeBlanc of Leesburg, Va.; a sister, Doreen LaBlanc of Bronx, N.Y.; two brothers, Kenneth LaBlanc of Yonkers, N.Y., and Alfred LaBlanc of Dalton, and four grandchildren.
His daughter, Ann Marie LeBlanc, died in 2005.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- Francis Joseph LeBlanc, who died Sunday, April 9, 2006, is also survived by four grandchildren, Kaitlyn LeBlanc, Emily LeBlanc and Rachel LeBlanc of Leesburg, Va., and Randy McLeod of Pittsfield.
Calling hours will be tomorrow from 4 to 8 at DEVANNY-CONDRON FUNERAL HOME. The funeral will be Thursday at 8:15 a.m. from the funeral home with a Libera service at 9 at St. Joseph's Church. Burial with full military honors will follow in Pittsfield Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, if friends desire, memorial donations may be made to HospiceCare in the Berkshires in care of the funeral home, 40 Maplewood Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201.
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