Barnstable, MA - On April 11, 2019, Bert passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family. Bert was born on May 11, 1938 in Cocagne, New Brunswick, Canada to Alba Blanche (Cormier) Leger and Irenee Leger. He is survived by his brother Joseph Leger of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. His sister Aline Arsenault and brother Paul Leger predecease him.
Bert is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Bernadette Leger, and his children David Leger and his wife Amy of Sewell, NJ; Anne Webster of South Dennis, MA; Lisa Potter of South Dennis, MA; and Linda Leger of Barnstable, MA. He is also survived by his two grandchildren, Alyssa and Aidan Leger of Sewell, NJ, as well as many nieces and nephews throughout the US and Canada.
Growing up on a farm in a small, rural village of New Brunswick, Canada, Bert learned the meaning of hard work and perseverance from any early age. Those life skills would prove time and again throughout his life to be invaluable. During his childhood years, he worked with his family on the farm, while also attending school. He and his teachers soon discovered the sprouting artistic talent he had. Bert would be tasked by his teachers to draw elaborate scenes of Santa and other characters on the chalkboard during Christmas time and other holidays to showcase his new found gift.
Despite his love for learning, in particular history and science, Bert was living in a time when education in rural Canada was not as valued as a day’s work. So, Bert left school to work full time. He didn’t, however, stop learning. His passion for learning all he could about history and science, especially astronomy and the universe, carried on the rest of his life. He would often joke that he was a self-taught college graduate and to many he came into contact with, they would certainly believe it.
At the age of 16, Bert and his older brother Paul contracted tuberculosis and were hospitalized and totally bed ridden for one year. While Paul was released, Bert underwent major lung surgery and was forced to remain hospitalized for an additional year,having to regain his strength and even to learn to walk again. Knowing any hopes of joining the military or other such labor intensive career choices were now gone, Bert decided to learn a trade and barber school was his calling. He trained and worked until he ultimately earned his master barber license and worked for many years in Goose Bay, Labrador.
Bert knew he had to spread his wings and leave Canada for a better future. At the age of 24, Bert moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, where he lived with his little brother, Joe. He continued working as a barber, where he honed his skills and quickly became a very popular barber with a growing customer base.
In 1963, his brother Joe’s then girlfriend, Annette, set Bert up on a date with her best friend and roommate, Bernadette. In a whirlwind romance of less than six months, Bert and Bernadette were married in a double wedding ceremony along side Joe and Annette in Waltham, MA.
Bert and Bernadette’s family soon grew when their son, David was born and shortly thereafter, Anne, came along. Bert’s brother Joe moved his family to the Cape and when Bert was given the opportunity work at a barber shop, he moved his family to Cape Cod in 1967 and settled in the town of Harwich. One year later, his employer and mentor “Dutch”, offered to sell the barber shop to Bert and in 1968, Bert’s Barber Shop was established, where it would continue on until Bert’s retirement in 2012.
During the 1960s and 1970s, while Bert was running the barber shop and Bernadette was running the house and caring for their now four children, Bert and Bernadette also bought, renovated and flipped several houses. They finally found their home in South Harwich, where they continued to live until the late 1990s.
During most of Bert’s life, as early as his childhood, Bert was plagued with a severe neurological disorder, which caused him to experience epileptic-type seizures, which, over time, became progressively worse. During the height of his affliction, he would often suffer dozens of these debilitating attacks each day. Despite his best efforts to treat his disorder with countless doctors and prescription medications, nothing seemed to stop these attacks from coming on. He even resorted to attempting to self-medicate with alcohol for many years but that only made his problems worse, losing most of his customer base at the barber shop and enduring severe financial hardship.
At the most hopeless and desperate time of his life, Bert was sent a unlikely miracle in the form of a severe grand mal seizure. The ambulance rushed him to the hospital and the attending emergency room physician knew exactly what was wrong and what medication would finally stop his attacks. From that day on, Bert never had another seizure nor the desire for another drink.
Despite the mountain of odds stacked against him, Bert picked himself up and rebuilt his business bigger and better than ever. He had customers from near and far and all walks of life but treated each one exactly the same...with a joke, a laugh and a smile. His artistic talent also exploded during this renaissance. As word of mouth began to spread about his pencil drawings, he was soon commissioned by countless people from all over the world to draw portraits and pictures for them.
When Bert wasn’t cutting hair or drawing, he was enjoying one of his two favorite past times: golfing and driving his car. Bert would golf any chance he had, any time of the year and loved to hop in the car for a road trip any time he could get away.
Throughout his life, Bert never wavered in his determination to provide the best life he could for his family. Nothing was more important to him than his wife and kids and no matter what challenges he faced, he never lost sight of that goal. Despite any of the success he attained in his life, nothing brought him more pride than his family.
A private memorial in celebration of Bert’s life is planned for his birthday in May. Contributions in lieu of flowers are asked to be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, of which Bert was a devout supporter, or to Visiting Nurses Association of Cape Cod Hospice, who so lovingly cared for him in his final months of life.